Maximum Standard Uptake Value of Mediastinal Lymph Nodes on Integrated FDG-PET-CT Predicts Pathology in Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

The maxSUV of individual mediastinal lymph nodes is a predictor of malignancy. There is overlap between false and true positives. Definitive biopsies are required to prove cancer irrespective of the maxSUV value. However, when a maxSUV of 5.3 is used instead of the traditional value of 2.5, the accuracy for FDG-PET-CT for each N2 nodal station increases to at least 92%.