title: Significance of 18F-fluorocholine PET/CT positive pulmonary lesions in prostate cancer patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the frequency and the significance of incidental pulmonary lesions with 18F-fluorocholine (18F-FCH) PET/CT in prostate cancer (PCa) patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  225 consecutive PCa patients referred for 18F-FCH PET/CT (median age 68 years) were retrospectively evaluated for the presence of lesions in the lungs: 173 referred for restaging and 52 for initial staging regarding their high risk of extra prostatic extension. The final diagnosis was based on histopathological or on clinical and radiological follow-up.
  
  
  RESULTS
  13 patients had 18F-FCH positive pulmonary and 8 patients malignant lesions: 5 patients (38%) had a primary lung cancer (2 squamous cell carcinomas, 1 papillary adenocarcinoma, 1 typical pulmonary carcinoid, 1 bronchioloalveolar carcinoma) and 3 patients (23%) PCa metastases. Benign lesions were found in 5 subjects (38%). SUVmax and maximum diameter were neither significantly different in primary and metastatic tumors nor between malignant and benign lesions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although our results suggest that incidental uptake in the lungs in PCa patients are nonspecific, their detection may have a significant impact on patient management knowing that more than 60% represent malignant disease.
authors.affiliation: Dr. Olivier Rager, Nuclear Medicine Department, Faculty of Medecine, University of Geneva, rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil, 4, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, Tel. +41/223 72 71 44, Fax +41/223 72 71 69, olivier.rager@hcuge.ch.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Rager
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baskin
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Amzalag
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Buchegger
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Miralbell
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ratib
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zilli
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Garibotto
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002794:Choline / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D015897:Comorbidity; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D033162:Incidental Findings; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D064847:Multimodal Imaging / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009378:Neoplasms, Multiple Primary / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; C514960:fluorocholine; D002794:Choline
keywords: 18F-Fluorocholine; PET/CT; lung cancer; prostate cancer; pulmonary metastases