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Abstract #1230

Characterization of Head and Neck Tumors in a Simultaneous Whole-Body MR/PET Scanner Using Diffusion-Weighted Imaging and FDG-PET

Christina Schraml1, Petros Martirosian2, Cornelia Brendle1, Holger Schmidt1, 3, Mark Mueller4, Claus D. Claussen, Christina Pfannenberg1, Nina F. Schwenzer1

1Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Department of Radiology, Tuebingen, BW, Germany; 2Section on Experimental Radiology, University Department of Radiology, Tuebingen, BW, Germany; 3Laboratory for Preclinical Imaging and Imaging Technology of the Werner Siemens-Foundation, Department of Radiology, Tuebingen, BW, Germany; 4Nuclear Medicine, University Department of Radiology, Tuebingen, BW, Germany


The acquisition of diffusion-weighted images in a simultaneous hybrid 3 T MR/PET scanner provides diagnostic image quality for the assessment of head and neck cancer. Primary tumors and lymph node (LN) metastases significantly differed regarding standardized uptake values (SUV) in 18F-FDG-PET. However, no significant difference was found between primary tumors and LN metastases regarding apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC). The absence of significant correlation between ADC and SUV suggests that DWI and FDG-PET might provide complementary information for the characterization of head and neck cancer.