Accuracy of ^18F-FDG PET/CT for lymph node staging in non-small-cell lung cancers

Background This retrospective study evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of 2-（F18）-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose-positron emission tomography （^18F-FDG-PET）/computed tomography （PET/CT） in the preoperative diagnosis of metastatic mediastinal and hilar lymph node in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer （NSCLC）. Methods A total of 39 patients received preoperative ^18F-FDG PET/CT and the postoperative biopsy. We compared preoperative PET/CT scan results with corresponding intraoperative histopathalogic findings in 39 NSCLC patients. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive and negative predictive value of ^18F-FDG PET/CT were assessed. Results Histopathologic examination confirmed metastasis in 57 out of the 208 excised lymph nodes; 23 of the 57 nodes were mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of PET/CT in the preoperative diagnosis of mediastinal lymph node metastasis in NSCLC patients were 65%, 96.8%, 92%, 78.5% and 90%, respectively. Conclusions PET/CT scan showed good accuracy in the preoperative diagnosis of mediastinal and hilar lymph node metastasis in the patients with NSCLC. We recommend that PET/CT scanning be used as a first-line evaluation tool for tumor diagnosis, therapy evaluation and follow-up.