Integration of PET/MR Into Clinical Pathways for Rectal Cancer Assessment

Background: Incidence and mortality rates from rectal cancer (RC) are increasing. Early detection of the extent of this malignancy plays a major role in determining the optimal patient therapy. Hybrid PET/MRI scanners have been developed, which can merge the fluorodeoxyglucose ( 18 F-FDG) tracer uptake with the underlying MRI findings, an approach that might improve this early detection. Objective: To compare the ability of 18 F-PET/MRI versus standard imaging practices to detect the extent of RC. Design/Participants: Comparative prospective study of RC patients treated at the oncology department of the authors between 2016 and 2018. Methods: All the recruited patients underwent the standard pretreatment imaging with either pelvic CT and/or pelvic MRI. These patients then underwent imaging with 18 F-FDG PET/MRI. The PET/MRI protocol included whole-body MRI with diagnostic MRI of the pelvis. The MRI scanning was acquired at the same time as the PET acquisition. Iimages were reviewed b more...