Abstract
BACKGROUND: Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for 15%-20% of all lung cancer cases. Accurate and fast staging is mandatory when choosing treatment, but current staging procedures are time consuming and lack sensitivity.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: A prospective study was designed to examine the role of combined positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) compared with standard staging (CT, bone scintigraphy and immunocytochemical assessment of bone marrow biopsy) of patients with SCLC. Thirty-four consecutive patients were included. Twenty-nine patients received initial PET/CT.
RESULTS: PET/CT caused change of stage in 5/29 (17%). Excluding patients with unconfirmed findings or pleural effusion, the sensitivity for accurate staging of patients with extensive disease was the following: for standard staging 79%, PET 93% and PET/CT 93%. Specificity was 100%, 83% and 100%, respectively.
CONCLUSION: The results from this first study on PET/CT in SCLC indicates that PET/CT can simplify and perhaps even improve the accuracy of the current staging procedure in SCLC. A larger clinical trial, preferably with consequent histological confirmation in case of discordance, however, is warranted.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology / ESMO |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Pages (from-to) | 338-45 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| ISSN | 0923-7534 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2007 |
Keywords
- Aged
- Bone Marrow
- Bone Neoplasms
- Carcinoma, Small Cell
- Female
- Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
- Humans
- Lung Neoplasms
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Neoplasm Staging
- Positron-Emission Tomography
- Prospective Studies
- Radiopharmaceuticals
- Sensitivity and Specificity
- Tomography, X-Ray Computed
- Comparative Study
- Journal Article
