Dr. Feldman on the Utility of PET Scan in Hodgkin Lymphoma

Tatyana Feldman, MD, hematologist and medical oncologist, John Theurer Cancer Center, discusses the utility of PET scan in Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Patients with Hodgkin lymphoma may develop residual masses in the mediastinum, making it difficult to differentiate active disease from scar tissue with a CAT scan, says Feldman.

As such, patients were historically overtreated and radiation was commonly used, explains Feldman. Additionally, splenic disease was not often detected with CAT scan.

PET scan was a major advancement in this field, says Feldman. Moreover, the majority of patients who have negative PET scan results after 2 cycles of chemotherapy are considered cured.

Multiple randomized phase III trials have demonstrated the utility of PET scan, says Feldman. Patients with bulky disease or early-stage disease may be spared radiation therapy or receive deescalated chemotherapy based on PET scan results.

As there are some limitations to PET scan, circulating tumor DNA testing may provide an alternative modality to accurately evaluate complete responses versus progressive disease in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma.