Preoperative 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography can Predict the Tumor Malignancy of Small Peripheral Lung Cancer

Purpose: Recent advances in image diagnostic technology have enhanced the discovery of peripheral small size lung cancers. Here, we examined the utility of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) for the evaluation of grade of tumor malignant potency.Methods: Seventy-nine patients with peripheral small lung cancers (≤2 cm) who underwent surgical resections and preoperative FDG-PET were enrolled. The correlations between the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) and various clinicopathological features related to tumor invasiveness, nodal metastasis, and recurrence were analyzed.Results: The median SUVmax of all tumors was 2.4 (range, 0–16.1). The SUVmax was significantly higher in patients with vascular invasion (5.6 ± 3.5 vs. 2.4 ± 2.4; P