Background: Primary hyperparathyroidism is characterized by an autonomous hypersecretion of parathyroid hormone by one or more parathyroid glands. Preoperative localization of the affected gland(s) is of key importance in order to allow minimally invasive surgery. At the moment, 11C-Methionine and 18F-Fluorocholine PET studies appear to be among the most promising second-line localization techniques; their comparative diagnostic performance, however, is still unknown.
Methods: PubMed/Medline and Embase databases were searched up to October 2020 for studies estimating the diagnostic accuracy of 11C-Methionine PET or 18F-Fluorocholine PET for parathyroid localization in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. Pooled sensitivity and positive predictive value were calculated for each tracer on a 'per-lesion' basis and compared using a random-effect model subgroup analysis.
Results: In total, 22Twenty-two studies were finally considered in the meta-analysis. Of these, 8 evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of 11C-Methionine and 14 that of 18F-Fluorocholine. No study directly comparing the two tracers was found. The pooled sensitivity of 18F-Fluorocholine was higher than that of 11C-Methionine (92% vs 80%, P < 0.01), while the positive predictive value was similar (94% vs 95%, P = 0.99). These findings were confirmed in multivariable meta-regression models, demonstrating their apparent independence from other possible predictors or confounders at a study level.
Conclusion: This was the first meta-analysis that specifically compared the diagnostic accuracy of 11C-Methionine and 18F-Fluorocholine PET for parathyroid localization in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. Our results suggested a superior performance of 18F-Fluorocholine in terms of sensitivity, while the two tracers had comparable accuracy in terms of positive predictive value.