Integrated fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (18f-fdg) pet/ct compared to standard contrast-enhanced CT for characterization and staging of pulmonary tumors eligible for surgical resection

Background: Accurate staging is necessary to determine the appropriate therapy in patients with lung cancer. Few studies have compared integrated fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) and contrast-enhanced CT in the characterization and staging of pulmonary tumors considered eligible for surgical resection.Purpose: To compare 18F-FDG PET/CT with standard contrast-enhanced CT for the diagnosis and staging of lung neoplasms eligible for surgical resection.Material and Methods: Seventy-six consecutive patients (56 male, 20 female; mean age±SD, 63.4±20 years) with 84 pulmonary tumors suspected for malignancy and considered eligible for surgical resection were prospectively enrolled. Seventy-three malignant (65 non-small-cell lung carcinomas, one small-cell lung cancer, two carcinoids, and five metastases) and 11 benign lung tumors (three hamartomas, two sarcoidosis, one amyloidosis, one Wegener granulomatosis, one tuberculosis, and three areas of sc...