title: FDG PET: advantages for staging the mediastinum?
abstract: Correctly staging lung cancer is extremely important because treatment options and prognosis differ significantly by stage. In this review, the performance characteristics of positron emission tomography using F-18-fluoro-deoxyglucose (FDG PET) for staging the mediastinum are given in comparison with other non-invasive imaging modalities on the basis of current literature data. There are three meta-analyses demonstrating that FDG PET is more accurate than CT for detecting mediastinal metastases. First publications suggest that dual-modality PET-CT may provide a further gain in accuracy. Additionally, whole-body FDG PET provides information on M-staging and prognosis. Data comparing FDG PET with other functional imaging modalities or endoscopic ultrasound are limited. The necessity of a histological confirmation of PET results is still under discussion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Münster, Albert-Schweitzer-Strasse 33, D-48149 Münster, Germany. franziu@uni-muenster.de
authors.forename: Christiane
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Franzius
mesh_terms: D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D017046:Cost Savings; D019160:Endosonography; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008482:Mediastinum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging / Q000379:methods*; D011379:Prognosis; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed / Q000379:methods*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18