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Although the current literature is limited, available data suggest that (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging improves the evaluation of patients with recurrent pancreatic carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma. There is evidence that PET/CT is particularly useful in the setting of elevated tumor markers and negative or equivocal CT findings. This article reviews the nature of these carcinomas in the post-therapy setting and describes the strengths and limitations of PET/CT when used for monitoring recurrence.

Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States and has a high likelihood of recurrence despite aggressive treatment strategies. Detection and exact localization of recurrent lesions are critical for guiding management and determining the proper therapeutic approach, which may prolong survival. Because of its high sensitivity and specificity compared with those of conventional techniques such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) combined with CT is useful for detection of recurrent or residual ovarian cancer and for monitoring response to therapy. However, PET/CT may yield false-negative results in patients with small, necrotic, mucinous, cystic, or low-grade tumors. In addition, in the posttherapy setting, inflammatory and infectious processes may lead to false-positive PET/CT results. Despite these drawbacks, PET/CT is superior to CT and MR imaging for depiction of recurrent disease.