Meta-analysis: Accuracy of 18FDG PET-CT for distant metastasis staging in lung cancer patients

BackgroundWe undertook a meta-analysis to evaluate the accuracy of 18FDG PET-CT for diagnosis of distant metastases in lung cancer patients.MethodsStudies about 18FDG PET-CT for diagnosis of distant metastases in patients with lung cancer were systematically searched in the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases. We calculated sensitivities, specificities, positive likelihood ratios and negative likelihood ratios, and constructed summary receiver operating characteristic curves using bivariate regression models for 18FDG PET-CT.ResultsAcross 9 studies (780 patients), the sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio of 18FDG PET-CT were 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.88-0.96), 0.96 (95% CI = 0.95-0.96), 28.4 (95% CI = 14.0-57.5), and 0.08 (95% CI = 0.02-0.37), respectively. Overall weighted area under the curve was 0.98 (95% CI = 0.96-0.99).Conclusion18FDG PET-CT has excellent diagnostic performance for diagnosis of distant metastases in patients with lung cancer.