Detecting recurrence of gastric cancer: the value of FDG PET/CT.
OBJECTIVE
In order to assess the diagnostic performance of Positron emission tomography/Computed tomography (PET/CT) for detecting recurrence in gastric cancer patients with clinical or radiologic suspicion of recurrence after surgical resection.


METHODS
Over a 4-year period, 105 post-operative patients with gastric cancer, who underwent PET/CT due to clinical or radiologic suspicion of recurrence during follow-up, were collected after confirming their PET/CT findings. The number and site of positive FDG uptake were retrospectively analyzed, and were correlated with the final diagnosis, by calculating the diagnostic values and assessing the causes of misdiagnosis.


RESULTS
Of all 105 patients, 75 patients were confirmed to have true recurrence with 108 recurrence sites. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy for diagnosing true recurrence on a per-person basis were 75%, 77%, 89%, 55%, and 75%, respectively. On a per-lesion basis, 75 (69%) of 108 true recurrences showed positive FDG uptake, while 75 (89%) of 84 positive FDG uptake was confirmed to have true recurrence.


CONCLUSIONS
PET/CT was relatively accurate in detecting recurrence in post-operative patients with gastric cancer. Moreover, PET/CT might be helpful in confirming the presence of recurrence particularly in patients who were highly suspicious of recurrence, because of its high positive predictability.
Department of Radiology and Center for Imaging Science, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Min Jung
MJ
Park
Won Jae
WJ
Lee
Hyo K
HK
Lim
Ko Woon
KW
Park
Joon Young
JY
Choi
Byung-Tae
BT
Kim
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*
D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18