Utility of Positron Emission Tomography in the Mediastinum: Moving Beyond Lung and Esophageal Cancer Staging

Functional imaging using positron emission tomography (PET) has been a major advance in tumor imaging over the last decade. Its role is established in breast cancer, colorectal cancer, nonsmall cell lung cancer, and lymphoma. This article discusses the indications and applications of PET to evaluate mediastinal pathology.