Pitfalls and Artifacts in the Use of PET/CT in Oncology Imaging

Accurate reporting of combined PET/CT imaging requires a thorough understanding of the normal and variant physiological distribution of tracers as well as common incidental findings and technical artifacts. We describe these pitfalls and artifacts, what action may help to mitigate them in clinical practice, and what further action may be appropriate. This review presents these in a region-based approach, in order to closely mimic clinical practice, and focuses on technical artifacts followed by a description of two commonly used oncologic tracers: FDG and choline.