[The usefulness of FDG-PET in patients with cervical lymphadenopathy].
OBJECTIVE
To assess the usefulness of 2-(fluorine-18) fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) in patients with cervical lymphadenopathy.


METHODS
From March 1999 to October 2001, 27 patients with cervical lymphadenopathy were imaged with FDG-PET. Maximum and mean standard uptake value (SUVmax and SUVmean) of lymphadenopathy and SUV of normal cervical tissue (SUVneck) were measured. All 21 patients with malignant lymphadenopathy got pathologically confirmed.


RESULTS
All 26 malignant lymph nodes in 21 patients could be detected by FDG-PET. FDG uptake of these nodes was higher than that of cervical tissue (SUVmax, SUVmean and SUVneck were 4.62 +/- 2.31, 3.45 +/- 2.74 and 0.55 +/- 0.08, respectively P < 0.001). Other 9 benign lymph nodes in 6 patients couldn't be detected by FDG-PET. The accuracy of PET in 21 patients with malignant lymphadenopathy, was higher than those of routine examinations such as ultrasonography plus CT or MR (P < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
FDG-PET allows effective diagnosis of patients with cervical lymphadenopathy and can contribute substantially to patient care.
Chang
Ping
P
Department of Stomatology, General Hospital of PLA, Beijing 100853, China.
Liu
Hong-Chen
HC
Tian
Jia-He
JH
Yao
Shu-Lin
SL
Wang
Tao
T
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008206:Lymphatic Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D055815:Young Adult
D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18