(18)F-FDG PET versus (18)F-FDG PET/CT for adrenal gland lesion characterization: a comparison of diagnostic efficacy in lung cancer patients.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic efficacy of integrated PET/CT using fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) for the differentiation of benign and metastatic adrenal gland lesions in patients with lung cancer and to compare the diagnostic efficacy with the use of PET alone.


METHODS
Sixty-one adrenal lesions (size range, 5-104 mm; mean size, 16 mm) were evaluated retrospectively in 42 lung cancer patients. Both PET images alone and integrated PET/CT images were assessed, respectively, at two-month intervals. PET findings were interpreted as positive if the FDG uptake of adrenal lesions was greater than or equal to that of the liver, and the PET/CT findings were interpreted as positive if an adrenal lesion show attenuation > 10 HU and showed increased FDG uptake. Final diagnoses of adrenal gland lesions were made at clinical follow-up (n = 52) or by a biopsy (n = 9) when available. The diagnostic accuracies of PET and PET/CT for the characterization of adrenal lesions were compared using the McNemar test.


RESULTS
Thirty-five (57%) of the 61 adrenal lesions were metastatic and the remaining 26 lesions were benign. For the depiction of adrenal gland metastasis, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of PET were 74%, 73%, and 74%, respectively, whereas those of integrated PET/CT were 80%, 89%, and 84%, respectively (p values; 0.5, 0.125, and 0.031, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
The use of integrated PET/CT is more accurate than the use of PET alone for differentiating benign and metastatic adrenal gland lesions in lung cancer patients.
Sung
Yon Mi
YM
Department of Radiology and Center for Imaging Science, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Kangnam-Gu, Seoul, Korea.
Lee
Kyung Soo
KS
Kim
Byung Tae
BT
Choi
Joon Young
JY
Chung
Myung Jin
MJ
Shim
Young Mog
YM
Yi
Chin A
CA
Kim
Tae Sung
TS
D000310:Adrenal Gland Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001706:Biopsy; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*
D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18