Ascites metabolism measurement enhanced the diagnostic value and accuracy of prognostic evaluation in 18F-FDG PET/CT studies in malignant ascites patients

OBJECTIVEThis study aimed to evaluate the role of ascites metabolism measurement in F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) PET/computed tomography (CT) for auxiliary diagnosis and prognostic evaluation of malignant ascites. MATERIALS AND METHODSThis was a retrospective study on 55 patients, including 36 with malignant ascites and 19 with benign ascites of undetermined origin, before they underwent their first F-FDG PET/CT scan. The χ -test was used to compare the diagnostic efficiencies among F-FDG PET/CT ascites metabolism measurement, tumor localization, and ascites cytology examination. The standard uptake values of ascites and of the normal liver were measured, respectively, and their ratio, denoted as T/NT, was calculated for each patient. The receiver-operating characteristic curve was used to analyze the diagnostic efficiency of the ascites T/NT, ascites carcinoembryonic antigen, ascites CA125, and ascites CA199, and the linear regression was used to analyze the relationship between the ascites T/NT and the survival time of patients. RESULTSThe metabolic level of malignant ascites was high. The sensitivity and accuracy of ascites metabolism measurement were higher than those of ascites cytology examination (χ =6.98, 4.58; all P’s