FDG-PET evaluation of pleural abnormalities
- Duke Univ. Medical Center, Durham, NC (United States); and others
Pleural abnormalities identified on anatomical studies are often nonspecific and may represent benign or malignant disease. We prospectively evaluated the ability of FDG-PET to identify malignancy in patients with pleural abnormalities detected on chest radiographs or chest CT. Thirty-two patients with pleural abnormalities (pleural masses, thickening or effusions) found on chest radiographs or CT were evaluated by FDG-PET. Regions of interest (ROI) were identified on the PET images correlating to anatomic abnormalities and standard uptake ratios (SUR`s) of these ROI`s were calculated. A SUR value of 2.5 or greater was considered positive for malignancy. Physicians blinded to biopsy results graded their confidence of malignancy (1-5 scale) and graded lesion FDG uptake with respect to mediastinal radioactivity. Twenty-three of the patients had definitive diagnoses by tissue biopsy. Seventeen of these patients had malignant (SUR=7.9{plus_minus}3.8) and 6 had benign (SUR=2.8{plus_minus}2.4) causes of their pleural abnormalities (p=0.001). All but two malignant cases had SURs higher than 2.5 and one of these two was correctly interpreted by the observers. SURs lower than 2.5 were seen in four of the six (67%) benign pleural abnormalities. Using a combination of both visual and semiquantitative analysis, the sensitivity of FDG-PET for detecting malignant pleural abnormalities was 94%. Active infections in the pleural space had increased FDG uptake on PET studies while other benign pleural abnormalities did not. FDG-PET has very high sensitivity for detecting malignant pleural abnormalities and can differentiate benign from malignant pleural abnormalities.
- OSTI ID:
- 198088
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-940605-; ISSN 0161-5505; TRN: 95:007029-0240
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Nuclear Medicine, Vol. 35, Issue Suppl.5; Conference: 41. annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine, Orlando, FL (United States), 5-8 Jun 1994; Other Information: PBD: May 1994
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Chest wall FDG accumulation in serial FDG-PET images in patients being treated for bronchogenic carcinoma with radiation
A comparison of C-11 methionine with F-18 FDG PET studies in lung and mediastinal disorders