Clinical use of combined positron emission tomography and computed tomography in thymoma recurrence.
The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of hybrid fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) for surveillance and follow-up of thymoma patients to detect recurrent disease. A retrospective chart review was performed on 37 thymoma patients who underwent FDG-PET/CT-scans during postoperative follow-up. The following information was obtained: clinical indication for FDG-PET/CT, the results of the FDG-PET/CT, particularly with regard to the additional diagnostic imaging information, the localization of the disease and subsequent clinical patient management. A total of 51 CT-scans were performed on 37 patients providing sensitivity and specificity for thymoma recurrence of 71% and 85%, respectively. Forty-five FDG-PET/CT-scans were performed on the same group of patients with an overall sensitivity and specificity of 82% and 95%, respectively. Notably, FDG-PET/CT sensitivity when employed for diagnosis of thymoma recurrence in the anterior mediastinum has reached 100% (CT has shown only 55% sensitivity for the detection of anterior mediastinal thymoma recurrence). Our preliminary study demonstrates that during follow-up after thymoma excision, FDG-PET/CT is superior to computed tomography alone in the detection and localization of mediastinal recurrence. In particular, the combined structural and metabolic information of FDG-PET/CT enhances the diagnostic confidence in lesion characterization.
El-Bawab
Hatem Y
HY
Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Alfaisal University, P.O. Box 3354, Riyadh 11211, Saudi Arabia. hysahmed@gmail.com
Abouzied
Mohei M
MM
Rafay
Mohammed A
MA
Hajjar
Waseem M
WM
Saleh
Waleed M
WM
Alkattan
Khaled M
KM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008479:Mediastinal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000175:diagnosis*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013945:Thymoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D055815:Young Adult
D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18