Nuclear Medicine & Radiation Therapy

The Role of Nuclear Medicine in Malignant Melanoma

Abstract

Anna N. Paschali

Malignant Melanoma (MM) accounts only for 4% of all skin cancers, but is the most aggressive and lethal type of skin cancer. MM metastizes either to regional lymph nodes or to distant sites following predictable or unpredictable pathways. Nuclear Medicine (NM) plays a key role in nodal staging with the use of sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping and guided sampling techniques. 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) Positron Εmission Τomography (PET) has also a pivotal role in staging and restaging of MM and can alter significantly patient’s management. In today’s clinical practice, hybrid SPECT/CT and PET/CT scanners allow simultaneous assessment of both metabolic and anatomic characteristics of the primary tumor and its potential local, regional, and distant extension. More studies are required to determine the optimal surveillance schedules of PET/CT in patients with high-risk MM in order to maximize the detection of early relapse, as well as the role of PET/CT in the assessment of response to MM therapy.
In this paper, we review the clinical contribution of current nuclear medicine technologies to the management of MM.