Cancer screening using 18F-FDG PET/CT in Korean asymptomatic volunteers: a preliminary report.
OBJECTIVE
This study was performed to evaluate the clinical value of (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron-emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) for cancer screening in Korean asymptomatic people.


METHODS
Between February 2004 and December 2006, 1,587 asymptomatic individuals underwent FDG PET/CT as part of a cancer screening program with some other diagnostic tests at the healthcare center of our hospital. After excluding patients with a history of malignant tumor, 1,336 subjects were enrolled. All PET/CT images were visually analyzed. In subjects showing positive findings for PET/CT or other screening tests, further diagnostic tests and pathological confirmation were performed.


RESULTS
Of the 1,336 subjects, malignant tumors were found in 16 participants (1.2%, thyroid cancer: 9, lung cancer: 2, stomach cancer: 2, and others: 4). There were 47 cases (3.6%) of positive PET/CT findings--11 cases were true positive (thyroid cancer: 8, lung cancer: 1, renal cancer: 1, and invasive thymoma), and 36 false positive, and five cases were false negative. The overall detection rate of PET/CT was 0.8%, and the sensitivity, specificity, positive-predictive value, and negative-predictive value of PET/CT were 68.8, 97.2, 23.4, and 99.6%, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography has the potential to detect various kinds of malignant tumors in cancer screening test, and the overall detection rate of PET/CT was 0.8%. FDG PET/CT can be a useful cancer screening modality with the selection of high-risk group and appropriate combination with other screening modalities.
Lee
Jeong Won
JW
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-744, Korea.
Kang
Keon Wook
KW
Paeng
Jin Chul
JC
Lee
Sang Mi
SM
Jang
Su Jin
SJ
Chung
June-Key
JK
Lee
Myung Chul
MC
Lee
Dong Soo
DS
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18