standardized uptake value


standardized uptake value

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SUV

The amount of radioactive tracer detected by a positron-emission tomographic scan during imaging of a body part. The SUV is equal to the tissue tracer taken up by the tissue of interest, divided by the injected dose of tracer, divided by the body weight of the patient. The SUV is used radiologically to distinguish benign masses from those that are cancerous; to monitor the response of cancerous masses to treatment with chemotherapy and/or radiation; and to assess the likelihood that a particular cancer will respond to treatment.