title: A comparative study of FDG PET/CT and enhanced multi-detector CT for detecting liver metastasis according to the size and location.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to compare the diagnosability between (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT and enhanced multi-detector CT (MDCT) for the detection of liver metastasis (LM) according to the size and location in liver and to evaluate standard maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmax) of all liver metastatic lesions.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred two consecutive patients with malignancy who underwent both FDG PET/CT and MDCT for LM evaluation were retrospectively reviewed. Among them, 56 patients with LM were enrolled in this study. LM was confirmed by follow-up imaging studies after at least 6 months or by histopathology. FDG PET/CT and MDCT images were visually analyzed using three-point scale by the consensus of two radiologists and two nuclear medicine physicians. The size and location (central vs. sub-capsular) of the all liver lesions were evaluated using MDCT images. Furthermore, SUVmax of all liver lesions on FDG PET/CT images were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 146 liver lesions were detected by FDG PET/CT and MDCT and 142 of the lesions were diagnosed as LM. The detection rates of MDCT and FDG PET/CT for LM by visual analysis were 77 and 78%, respectively. There was no significant difference of detection rate according to the overall location and size of the lesions. However, FDG PET/CT was more sensitive than MDCT for detecting small and sub-capsular LM. The detection rate of FDG PET/CT for LM was 68% by the cutoff SUVmax of 2.7.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although the diagnosabilities of MDCT and FDG PET/CT for detecting LM were comparable, FDG PET/CT is superior to MDCT for detecting small LM located in the sub-capsular portion of liver.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Buchun Hospital, Kyungki, Buchun, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jung Mi
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Il Young
authors.initials: IY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sang Won
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sang Mi
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hyun Gi
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Shin Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hyung Chul
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Shin
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003287:Contrast Media; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000556:secondary; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064847:Multimodal Imaging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D047368:Tumor Burden
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18