Molecular imaging of head and neck cancers. Perspectives of PET/MRI

The F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (F-18-FDG-PET/CT) procedure is a cornerstone in the diagnostics of head and neck cancers. Several years ago PET-magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) also became available as an alternative hybrid multimodal imaging method. Does PET/MRI have advantages over PET/CT in the diagnostics of head and neck cancers? The diagnostic accuracy of the standard imaging methods CT, MRI and PET/CT is depicted according to currently available meta-analyses and studies concerning the use of PET/MRI for these indications are summarized. In all studies published up to now PET/MRI did not show superiority regarding the diagnostic accuracy in head and neck cancers; however, there is some evidence that in the future PET/MRI can contribute to tumor characterization and possibly be used to predict tumor response to therapy with the use of multiparametric imaging. Currently, F-18-FDG-PET/CT is not outperformed by PET/MRI in the diagnostics of head and neck cancers. The additive value of PET/MRI due to the use of multiparametric imaging needs to be investigated in future research.