[en] Given the paucity of high-certainty evidence, and differences in opinion on the use of nuclear medicine for hematological malignancies, we embarked on a consensus process involving key experts in this area. We aimed to assess consensus within a panel of experts on issues related to patient eligibility, imaging techniques, staging and response assessment, follow-up, and treatment decision-making, and to provide interim guidance by our expert consensus. We used a three-stage consensus process. First, we systematically reviewed and appraised the quality of existing evidence. Second, we generated a list of 153 statements based on the literature review to be agreed or disagreed with, with an additional statement added after the first round. Third, the 154 statements were scored by a panel of 26 experts purposively sampled from authors of published research on haematological tumours on a 1 (strongly disagree) to 9 (strongly agree) Likert scale in a two-round electronic Delphi review. The RAND and University of California Los Angeles appropriateness method was used for analysis. Between one and 14 systematic reviews were identified on each topic. All were rated as low to moderate quality. After two rounds of voting, there was consensus on 139 (90%) of 154 of the statements. There was consensus on most statements concerning the use of PET in non-Hodgkin and Hodgkin lymphoma. In multiple myeloma, more studies are required to define the optimal sequence for treatment assessment. Furthermore, nuclear medicine physicians and haematologists are awaiting consistent literature to introduce volumetric parameters, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and radiomics into routine practice.
Kobe, Carsten; Department of Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
Baeßler, Bettina; Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
Baues, Christian; Department of Radiooncology, Radiotherapy and CyberKnife Center, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
Boellaard, Ronald; Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam UMC, VUMC Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Borchmann, Peter; Department of Haematology and Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
Buck, Andreas; Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
Buvat, Irène; Laboratory of Translational Imaging in Oncology, Institut Curie, Inserm, PSL University, Orsay, France
Chapuy, Björn; Department of Hematology, Oncology and Tumorimmunology, Charité University Medical Center Berlin, Benjamin Franklin Campus, Berlin, Germany
Cheson, Bruce D; Lymphoma Research Foundation, New York, NY, USA
Chrzan, Robert; Department of Radiology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
Cottereau, Ann-Segolene; Nuclear Medicine Department, Cochin Hospital, APHP, University of Paris, Paris, France
Dührsen, Ulrich; Klinik für Hämatologie, Universitätsklinikum Essen, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
Eikenes, Live; Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
Hutchings, Martin; Department of Haematology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
Jurczak, Wojciech; Department of Clinical Oncology, Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, Kraków, Poland
Kraeber-Bodéré, Françoise; Service de Médecine Nucléaire, University Hospital Hôtel-Dieu, Nantes, France, CRCI2NA, INSERM, CNRS, Université d'Angers, Nantes Université, Nantes, France
Lopci, Egesta; Nuclear Medicine, IRCCS-Humanitas Research Hospital, Milan, Italy
Luminari, Stefano; Surgical, Medical and Dental Department of Morphological Sciences Related to Transplant, Oncology and Regenerative Medicine Department, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy, Hematology Unit, Azienda USL IRCCS of Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy
MacLennan, Steven; Academic Urology Unit, Institute of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
Mikhaeel, N George; Department of Clinical Oncology, Guy's Cancer Centre, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust, London, UK, School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences, King's College, University of London, London, UK
Nijland, Marcel; Department of Hematology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Rodríguez-Otero, Paula; Department of Hematology, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
Treglia, Giorgio; Imaging Institute of Southern Switzerland, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, Bellinzona, Switzerland, Faculty of Biomedical sciences, Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano, Switzerland, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Withofs, Nadia ; Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège - CHU > > Service médical de médecine nucléaire et imagerie onco
Zamagni, Elena; Istituto di Ematologia "Seràgnoli", IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Bologna, Italy, Dipartimento di Medicina Specialistica, Diagnostica e Sperimentale, Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
Zinzani, Pier Luigi; Istituto di Ematologia "Seràgnoli", IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Bologna, Italy, Dipartimento di Medicina Specialistica, Diagnostica e Sperimentale, Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
Zijlstra, Josée M; Department of Hematology, Amsterdam UMC, VUMC Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Herrmann, Ken; Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany
Kunikowska, Jolanta; Department of Nuclear Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
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