Imaging studies—such as PET/CT and CT scans—have become the standards that provide a baseline against which treatment response can be more accurately assessed.1

PET-CT scan
Chest/abdominal/pelvic (C/A/P) CT scan with contrast of diagnostic quality and/or whole-body PET/CT scan are required for diagnosis of MZL.2
Additional imaging studies may be useful in the diagnosis of MZL in select cases2:
- Echocardiogram or MUGA scan if cardiotoxic chemotherapies are indicated (gastric MALT, nodal MZL)
- MRI with contrast for neurologic evaluation or for patients for whom CT with contrast is contraindicated (nongastric MALT)
- Endoscopy with ultrasound (if available) with multiple biopsies of anatomical sites (gastric and nongastric MALT)
- Additional imaging as appropriate
Imaging studies may be ordered at initial diagnosis, staging, and when evaluating treatment response.1
- Contrast-enhanced CT is preferred for radiation treatment planning and for distinguishing bowel from lymphadenopathy1
- PET/CT is the standard for routine staging of FDG*-avid, nodal lymphomas (lymphomas whose ‘hot’ nodes or tumors take up the FGD), whereas CT is indicated for nonavid histologies1
- While a majority of nodal lymphoma histologies are considered FDG-avid, MZL is nonavid 1
- Although PET/CT is generally not useful for staging these more indolent histologies, it may be helpful in some circumstances (eg, to identify a preferred biopsy site if aggressive transformation is suspected)1
*FDG (fluorodeoxyglucose) is a dye that is picked up by the PET scan.
CT, computerized tomography; FDG-PET, fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET); PET/CT, positron emission tomography-computed tomography.