PET-derived metabolic volume metrics in lymphoma

There is growing interest in the development of accurate surrogate measures to predict treatment response and survival both in routine clinical practice and for the development of novel cancer therapeutics. Positron emission tomography plays a pivotal role due to its ability to describe functional changes in tumors also in a quantitative way. However, the standardization of imaging procedures and a reliable quality control program with the inclusion of proper calibration and cross-calibration of the scanner is necessary for accurate quantitative measurements. In this review, in addition to technical and methodological considerations related to PET-derived volumetric metrics, we will review the published data to focus on the potential value of these metrics in the prediction of treatment response and patient prognosis in lymphoma. © 2015, Italian Association of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.