title: Clinical use of combined positron emission tomography and computed tomography in thymoma recurrence.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: 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
authors.forename: Hatem Y
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: El-Bawab
authors.forename: Mohei M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Abouzied
authors.forename: Mohammed A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rafay
authors.forename: Waseem M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Hajjar
authors.forename: Waleed M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Saleh
authors.forename: Khaled M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Alkattan
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18