Staging Hodgkin's Disease with 18-FDG PET. Comparison with CT and Surgery.
In this prospective study, staging of Hodgkin's disease with 18-FDG PET was compared to CT, needle biopsy and staging laparotomy. Forty nine patients with Hodgkin's disease were studied; forty five with new disease and four being restaged for recurrent disease. Thirty eight patients had confirmation by needle or excisional biopsy, eleven by staging laparotomy including needle biopsy. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of FDG PET were 100%, 100%, 100% and 100% in the laparotomy group. CT values were 20%, 83%, 50% and 56% in the same group. Overall in both surgical and non surgical patients FDG PET changed stage in 59% (29/49) of patients. FDG PET is a safe and effective method of staging Hodgkin's disease.