Purpose: To prospectively evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of integrated fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) (PET/CT) for the preoperative diagnosis of mediastinal nodal metastasis in stage T1 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with surgical and histologic results as reference standards.
Materials and methods: Institutional review board approval and informed consent were obtained. From June 2003 to February 2005, 150 patients (89 men and 61 women; mean age, 59 years) with stage T1 NSCLC at stand-alone CT underwent integrated PET/CT and surgical staging. Two observers (one radiologist and one nuclear medicine physician) evaluated prospectively and in consensus the mediastinal nodes by analyzing both PET (functional) and CT (anatomic) images. Nodal stages were determined by using the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system and surgical and histologic findings as the reference standard. Statistical evaluation of malignant lymph nodes was performed on per-nodal-station and per-person bases.
Results: A total of 568 mediastinal nodal stations were evaluated. Nodes were positive for malignancy in 34 (23%) of 150 patients and 55 (10%) of 568 nodal stations. For depiction of malignant nodes, the respective sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of integrated PET/CT were 42% (23 of 55), 100% (513 of 513), 100% (23 of 23), 94% (513 of 545), and 94% (536 of 568) on per-nodal-station basis and 47% (16 of 34), 100% (116 of 116), 100% (16 of 16), 87% (116 of 134), and 88% (132 of 150) on a per-patient basis.
Conclusion: Integrated FDG PET/CT provides high specificity and positive predictive value of mediastinal nodal staging in stage T1 NSCLC, although the sensitivity is low.