Differential diagnosis of gallbladder cancer using positron emission tomography with fluorine-18-labeled fluoro-deoxyglucose (FDG-PET).
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the utility of positron emission tomography (PET) with fluorine-18-labeled fluoro-deoxyglucose (FDG) in the preoperative differential diagnosis of gallbladder tumors. We performed PET studies of gallbladder tumors in order to predict the malignancy of these tumors preoperatively.


METHODS
Sixteen patients who had protuberant lesions in the gallbladder and who were scheduled to undergo surgery were studied with PET using FDG. Focally increased FDG uptake in the gallbladder region was considered malignant. The FDG-PET findings were compared with the histological findings of surgical pathology.


RESULTS
Sensitivity of FDG-PET was 75% (6/8 patients). One of two false-negative cases suffered from diabetes mellitus, and in the other case, the lesion was small. Specificity was 87.5% (7/8 patients). A case with xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis (XGC) was the only false-positive case.


CONCLUSIONS
FDG-PET may be able to provide important information for evaluating the malignancy of gallbladder tumors.
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002764:Cholecystitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D005705:Gallbladder Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D005706:Gallbladder Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011127:Polyps / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed / Q000592:standards
D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18