Improved radiologic staging of lung cancer with 2-[18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose-positron emission tomography and computed tomography registration.
OBJECTIVE
To determine if volumetric nonlinear registration or registration of thoracic computed tomography (CT) and 2-[18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) datasets changes the detection of mediastinal and hilar nodal disease in patients undergoing staging for lung cancer and if it has any impact on radiologic lung cancer staging.


METHODS
Computer-based image registration was performed on 45 clinical thoracic helical CT and FDG-PET scans of patients with lung cancer who were staged by mediastinoscopy and/or thoracotomy. Thoracic CT, FDG-PET, and registration datasets were each interpreted by 2 readers for the presence of metastatic nodal disease and were staged independently of each other. Results were compared with surgical pathologic findings.


RESULTS
One hundred and thirty lymph node stations in the mediastinum and hila were evaluated each on CT, PET, and registration datasets. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value, respectively, for detecting metastatic nodal disease for CT were 74%, 78%, 55%, 88%; for PET with CT side by side, 59% to 76%, 77% to 89%, 48% to 68%, and 84% to 91%; and for CT-PET registration, 71% to 76%, 89% to 96%, 70% to 86%, and 90% to 91%. Registration images were significantly more sensitive in detecting nodal disease over PET for 1 reader (P = 0.0156) and were more specific than PET (P = 0.0107 and 0.0017) in identifying the absence of mediastinal disease for both readers. Registration was significantly more accurate for staging when compared with PET for both readers (P = 0.002 and 0.035).


CONCLUSIONS
Registration of CT and FDG-PET datasets significantly improved the specificity of detecting metastatic disease. In addition, registration improved the radiologic staging of lung cancer patients when compared with CT or FDG-PET alone.
Aquino
Suzanne L
SL
Department of Radiology, FND 202, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Asmuth
Jane C
JC
Alpert
Nathaniel M
NM
Halpern
Elkan F
EF
Fischman
Alan J
AJ
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000465:Algorithms; D001331:Automation; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging / Q000379:methods*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18