A Role for PET/CT in Response Assessment of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer, whose incidence, however, is increasing and will presumably continue to rise in the coming years. Key features of this disease comprise its mantle-shaped, pleura-associated, often multifocal growth, which cause diagnostic challenges. A growing number of mesotheliomas are being treated with novel immunotherapies for which no image derived general response criteria have been established. However, recent studies indicate that FDG-PET/CT could be superior for response assessment compared to CT-based criteria. This article aims at providing an overview of response assessment criteria dedicated to malignant pleural mesothelioma, such as mRECIST, iRECIST, and PERCIST. In addition, the potential future role of PET/CT in the management of malignant pleural mesothelioma will also be discussed.