Cervical Cancer: Treatment Planning With PET/CT And USPIO MRI

Sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) is a national group of physicians, scientists, and medical institutions working together to conduct clinical trials of new medical imaging technologies. ACRIN Protocol 6671, "The Utility of Pre-operative FDG-PET/CT & Ferumoxtran-10 (Combidex) MRI Scanning Prior to Primary Chemoradiation Therapy to Detect Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Metastasis In Patients with Locoregionally Advanced (IB2, IIA > or = 4 cm, IIB-IVA) Carcinoma of the Cervix," will be conducted in collaboration with the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG). Image Metrix is a subsidiary of the American College of Radiology (ACR).

This multi-center study aims to enroll 325 women diagnosed with primary, previously untreated, histologically confirmed, locoregionally advanced, invasive cervical cancer who are to undergo chemoradiation therapy. All patients will undergo FDG-PET/CT and ferumoxtran-10 MRI prior to chemoradiation therapy to assess the diagnostic utility of these imaging modalities in the detection of nodal metastases in locoregionally advanced cervical carcinoma.

Cervical cancer is the third most common gynecologic malignancy in the United States, causing 3,700 - 5,000 deaths annually. Cervical cancer is the only major gynecologic malignancy that is clinically staged. When compared to surgical staging, clinical staging is accurate in only 60% of cases. Clinical staging errors include failure to identify lymph node metastases. Survival rates are generally lower in patients with lymph node metastases.