Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of 18F-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET) in the staging of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Methods: 105 patients with NSCLC had been examined by 18F-FDG PET and staged by PET before radiotherapy. The results of 18F-FDG PET examination were compared with those of CT.
Results: The staging was changed in 38 patients because of 18F-FDG PET findings with PET upstaged in 31 patients and downstaged in 7 patients. Because of distant metastasis detected by PET, 21 patients received palliative treatment. Six of the 7 downstaged patients underwent radical surgery, among which the PET findings were concordant with the operative findings in 5 patients. Distant metastasis detected by PET increased with elevation of pre-PET stage: at stage I 10.0% (2/20), stage II 14.3% (3/21) and stage III 25.0% (16/64), respectively.
Conclusion: 18F-FDG PET, by changing clinical staging in 36.2% (38/105) NSCLC patients has impact on treatment strategy in NSCLC patients.