Precise characterization of a solitary pulmonary nodule using tumor shadow disappearance rate-corrected F-18 FDG PET and enhanced CT

• Published in: Medicine (Baltimore) 2022-02, Vol.101 (5), p.e28764-e28764
• Main Authors: Park, Ki Seong, Seon, Hyun Ju, Yun, Ju-Sik, Yoo, Su Woong, Lee, Changho, Kang, Sae-Ryung, Kim, Jahae, Cho, Sang-Geon, Song, Ho-Chun, Bom, Hee-Seung, Min, Jung-Joon, Kwon, Seong Young
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; Humans; Lung Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Observational Study; Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography; Radiopharmaceuticals; Retrospective Studies; Solitary Pulmonary Nodule - diagnostic imaging
• ISSN: 0025-7974; 1536-5964
• DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000028764

We aimed to characterize solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN) using imaging parameters for F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) or enhanced CT corrected by tumor shadow disappearance rate (TDR) to reflect the tissue density.We enrolled 51 patients with an SPN who underwent PET/CT and chest CT with enhancement. The FDG uptake of SPN was evaluated using maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) on PET/CT. The mean Hounsfield unit (HU) for each SPN was evaluated over the region of interest on nonenhanced and enhanced CT images. The change in mean HU (HUpeak-pre) was quantified by subtracting the mean HU of the preenhanced CT from that of the post-enhanced CT. TDR was defined as the ratio of the tumor area, which disappears at a mediastinal window, to the tumor area of the lung window. We investigated which parameters (SUVmax or HUpeak-pre) could contribute to the characterization of SPN classified by TDR value and whether diagnostic performance could be improved using TDR-corrected imaging parameters.For SPN with higher tissue density (TDR