title: Nodal staging of rectal cancer: high-resolution pelvic MRI versus ¹⁸F-FDGPET/CT.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare high-resolution pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) for the preoperative assessment of nodal staging in rectal cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty patients who had surgery for rectal cancer were retrospectively enrolled during a 6-month period. Each patient underwent high-resolution pelvic MRI and PET/CT preoperatively within the same week. An experienced radiologist predicted nodal staging on MR, and an experienced nuclear medicine physician similarly predicted nodal staging on PET/CT. Their predictions were compared with pathologic staging results, retrospectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The accuracies of nodal status prediction from MR and PET/CT were 83% and 70%, respectively. Magnetic resonance imaging had a sensitivity of 94% and a specificity of 67%, whereas PET/CT had a sensitivity of 61% and a specificity of 83%. A combination of MRI and PET/CT revealed a sensitivity of 94%, a specificity of 83%, and an accuracy of 90%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High-resolution pelvic MRI was more accurate than PET/CT for the prediction of regional nodal status. Magnetic resonance imaging had a high sensitivity and PET/CT had a high specificity for N staging in rectal cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College or Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Dae Jung
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Joo Hee
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Young Hoon
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Ryu
authors.forename: Tae Joo
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.forename: Jeong-Sik
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Jae-Joon
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D051598:Whole Body Imaging
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18