title: Comparison of 18-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography and computed tomography in detection of cervical lymph node metastases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
abstract: Neck lymph nodes (LNs) from 18 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) were evaluated with 18-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET). Eighteen NPC patients underwent head and neck FDG-PET and computed tomography (CT) for detection of suspected neck LN metastases. For final diagnosis, biopsies were taken from neck LNs with discordant findings between FDG-PET and CT. Meanwhile, standard uptake values (SUVs) of the FDG-PET images were calculated to differentiate metastatic LNs from benign LNs. A total of 90 neck LNs found on either FDG-PET or CT were evaluated. In addition to 27 concordant positive results and 42 concordant negative LN results, biopsy findings revealed 11 metastatic LNs that were detected by FDG-PET but not by CT. However, the SUVs of the 11 metastatic LNs and 7 benign LNs were not significantly different. The CT scanning showed positive findings for I metastatic LN with negative FDG-PET findings. In addition, the tumor stage was upgraded in 5 patients on the basis of FDG-PET findings. In comparison with CT, FDG-PET has a higher potential for detecting neck LN metastases of NPC and assessing NPC tumor stage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan.
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Y J
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Yen
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: ChangLai
authors.forename: P U
authors.initials: PU
authors.lastname: Chieng
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001706:Biopsy; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D009333:Neck; D009367:Neoplasm Staging / Q000379:methods; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed / Q000379:methods*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18