title: [Diagnostic value of (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/ computed tomography for N-and M-staging of malignant melanoma].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effectiveness and advantages of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) for N and M staging of malignant melanoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 114 patients (69 males, 45 females) with AJCC stage II-IV malignant melanoma were recruited. The diagnostic accuracy for N- and M-staging was determined for CT alone, PET alone and PET/CT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  PET/CT imaging provided significantly more accurate interpretations regarding overall N- and M-staging than PET or CT alone (97.4% vs 94.7% and 88.6%). Overall N- and M-stage was correctly determined by PET/CT (98.2%) versus PET (93.9%) and CT (83.3%) and the differences were significant (P < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The diagnostic performance of FDG-PET/CT is excellent for N- and M-staging of melanoma patients, especially for detecting or excluding distant metastases.
authors.affiliation: Diagnosis & Treatment Department of Molecular Imaging & Nuclear Medicine, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute & Hospital, Tianjin 300060, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Diagnosis & Treatment Department of Molecular Imaging & Nuclear Medicine, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute & Hospital, Tianjin 300060, China. Email: wenguixy@163.com.
authors.forename: Wengui
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Diagnosis & Treatment Department of Molecular Imaging & Nuclear Medicine, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute & Hospital, Tianjin 300060, China.
authors.forename: Xiuyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Diagnosis & Treatment Department of Molecular Imaging & Nuclear Medicine, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute & Hospital, Tianjin 300060, China.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Diagnosis & Treatment Department of Molecular Imaging & Nuclear Medicine, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute & Hospital, Tianjin 300060, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Diagnosis & Treatment Department of Molecular Imaging & Nuclear Medicine, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute & Hospital, Tianjin 300060, China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18