Assessment of malignant pleural mesothelioma with (18)F-FDG dual-head gamma-camera coincidence imaging: comparison with histopathology.
Malignant pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive primary neoplasm for which early detection and accurate staging are known diagnostic challenges. The role of (18)F-FDG dual-head gamma-camera coincidence imaging ((18)F-FDG-CI) is yet to be defined. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of (18)F-FDG-CI in the assessment of malignant pleural mesothelioma using histopathology as the gold standard.


METHODS
Fifteen consecutive patients with CT scan evidence of pleural thickening, fluid, plaques, or calcification underwent (18)F-FDG imaging 1.5 h after the intravenous administration of 370 MBq (18)F-FDG. Imaging was performed with a dual-head gamma camera equipped with 2.54-cm-thick NaI crystals operating in coincidence mode. Using an iterative algorithm, whole-body images were reconstructed as transaxial, sagittal, and coronal images. No attenuation correction was applied. The results of (18)F-FDG-CI scans were compared with CT and with histopathologic diagnosis.


RESULTS
Eleven of 15 patients had histologically proven malignant mesotheliomas (10 epithelial, 1 sarcomatoid). All 11 primary tumors were detected by (18)F-FDG, and absence of disease was confirmed in the 4 patients who were disease free. Thirty-four lesions were biopsied; among these, 29 were found to be positive for tumor. (18)F-FDG was true-positive in 28 lesions, true-negative in 4, false-negative in 1 (0.5 cm in diameter), and false-positive in 1 (inflammatory pleuritis). The smallest lesion detected was 0.8 cm. For biopsied lesions, overall sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for (18)F-FDG-CI were 97%, 80%, and 94% respectively, compared with 83%, 80%, and 82% for CT. Twenty-one of 29 positive lesions involved the pleura, lung parenchyma, or chest wall and were all (18)F-FDG avid. In the mediastinum, (18)F-FDG-CI detected 7 of 8 biopsy-positive lesions (88%), whereas CT was positive in 6 of 8 lesions (75%). (18)F-FDG identified extrathoracic metastases in 5 patients, excluding them from surgical therapy.


CONCLUSIONS
These preliminary results suggest that (18)F-FDG-CI appears to be an accurate method to diagnose and to define the extent of disease in patients with diffuse malignant pleural mesothelioma.
Gerbaudo
Victor H
VH
Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. vgerbaudo@bics.bwh.harvard.edu
Sugarbaker
David J
DJ
Britz-Cunningham
Scott
S
Di Carli
Marcelo F
MF
Mauceri
Charles
C
Treves
S Ted
ST
D000465:Algorithms; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D015902:Gamma Cameras; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008479:Mediastinal Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D008654:Mesothelioma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary; D008875:Middle Aged; D010994:Pleura / Q000473:pathology; D010997:Pleural Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*
D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18