Application of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography in Diagnosis of Malignant Diseases

ObjectiveTo testify the efficacy of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) in the diagnosis of cancer.MethodsA total of 170 patients with diagnosed cancer or suspicious cancer were enrolled in this study, and underwent 18F-FDG PET. The standard uptake value (SUV) and diameter for each abnormal region in PET images were analyzed. All data were analyzed by SPSS 11.5.ResultsPET scan identified a primary cancer in 45.8% (11/24) patients. The sensitivity and specificity of PET scan in differentiating malignant lesions from benign ones were 78.8% (52/66) and 77.1% (27/35) respectively. Twenty-nine out of 68 (42.6%) lesions were detected earlier by PET than by computed tomography. The SUV of primary cancer was significantly higher than that of metastatic lymph nodes (5.84±3.12 vs. 3.14±2.24, P<0.001). And SUV of primary lung cancer was also significantly higher than that of metastatic lung cancer (6.30±3.01 vs. 2.86±2.37, P<0.01).Conclusion18F-FDG PET plays a very important role in cancer diagnosis.