PET-CT evaluation of solitary pulmonary nodules: with or without a radiologist?

BACKGROUND: CT scan provides information about the anatomyand morphology, may confirm whether the change is singleor has multifocal character and may suggest the probability ofmalignancy. Due to increased metabolism, at PET examinationmalignant tissues usually show a greater uptake of 18F-FDG thanbe...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Nuclear medicine review. Central & Eastern Europe Vol. 15; no. C; pp. 74 - 78
Main Authors:	d’Amico, Andrea, Przeorek, Cesary, Siewińska, Jolanta, Gorczewski, Kamil, Szopa, Izabela, Sczasny, Joanna, Turska-d’Amico, Maria, Steinhof-Radwańska, Katarzyna, Bobek-Billewicz, Barbara, Kużdżał, Jarosław
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Gdansk Wydawnictwo Via Medica 01-01-2012
Subjects:	Accuracy Nuclear medicine
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	BACKGROUND: CT scan provides information about the anatomyand morphology, may confirm whether the change is singleor has multifocal character and may suggest the probability ofmalignancy. Due to increased metabolism, at PET examinationmalignant tissues usually show a greater uptake of 18F-FDG thanbenign changes and healthy tissue. In several cases, PET-CTis described only by a specialist in nuclear medicine withoutconsulting a radiologist. The aim of this study is to evaluate theaccuracy of PET with assessment performed by a single nuclearmedicine specialist and multidisciplinary assessment by bothnuclear medicine and radiology specialists. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PET-CT was performed in 58consecutive patients referred from John Paul II Hospital in Cracowbecause of radiologically diagnosed solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN) with diameter > 1 cm. An histopatological specimenwas obtained in 37 patients. In 17 cases PET-CT imageswere evaluated by a single nuclear medicine specialist (groupA), while for the remaining 20 cases, the image evaluation wasperformed shoulder-to-shoulder by a nuclear medicine specialistand a radiologist (group B). ANALYSIS OF DATA: Overall PET sensitivity, specificity, positiveand negative predictive value and accuracy were calculated onthe basis of anatomopathologic results. These data were alsocalculated separately for groups A and B. RESULTS: The histopatologic examination demonstrated thenon neoplastic character of 7/37 lesions. The sensitivity, specificity,accuracy, positive and negative predictive values for groupA were 85.7%, 100%, 100%, 33.3% and 88% while for group Bwere 92.8%, 83.3%, 92.8%, 83.3% and 90% respectively. CONCLUSION: PET-CT is an accurate diagnostic method to assessthe nature of solitary pulmonary nodules. The consultationwith radiologist does not substantially affect the PET-CT diagnosticaccuracy, but can lead to a higher negative predictive value.
ISSN:	1506-9680 1644-4345