Accuracy of nodal staging by 18F-FDG-PET/CT in limited disease small-cell lung cancer

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Jan Hockmann - , University of Duisburg-Essen (Author)
  • Hubertus Hautzel - , University of Duisburg-Essen (Author)
  • Kaid Darwiche - , University of Duisburg-Essen, University Hospital Essen (Author)
  • Wilfried Eberhard - , University of Duisburg-Essen (Author)
  • Martin Stuschke - , University of Duisburg-Essen (Author)
  • Clemens Aigner - , University of Duisburg-Essen (Author)
  • Ken Herrmann - , University of Duisburg-Essen (Author)
  • Till Plönes - , University of Duisburg-Essen, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) partner site Essen / Düsseldorf (Author)

Abstract

Background: Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is highly aggressive with a nearly incurable disease in most cases. The most important prognostic factor is the status of the mediastinal lymph nodes. Only a small proportion of patients can be diagnosed at early stages and directed to curative multimodal treatment. Therefore, accuracy of nodal staging by (18F)-Fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) computed tomography (18F-FDG-PET/CT) in (very) limited disease SCLC, although not well investigated, is highly important. Methods: Treatment naive, non-bulky patients treated or diagnosed with SCLC between June 2012 and April 2020 with complete data including FDG-PET/CT and invasive mediastinal staging were retrospectively analyzed (n = 19). Sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value (NPV), positive predictive value (PPV) and accuracy of mediastinal lymph node staging of 18F-FDG-PET/CT was calculated. Results: The FDG-PET/CT showed a sensitivity of 91%, and the specificity was calculated as 87.5%. In this cohort, the disease prevalence in lymph nodes was 58% (n = 11). Positive predictive value was 91%, NPV 88% and accuracy calculated at 89%. One patient was upstaged from single-level N2 to multilevel N2. In one patient, upstaging in invasive staging was performed from N2 to N3, and one patient was downstaged from N1 to N0. Conclusions: FDG-PET/CT is a valuable tool for the detection of distant metastases, but in mediastinal staging of SCLC some limitations might remain. Invasive methods remain the gold standard. Therefore, the mediastinal lymph nodal status of patients with SCLC screened for multimodal treatment should be further evaluated by additional invasive techniques to verify the exact N-staging and to optimize treatment stratification.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)506-511
Number of pages6
JournalAsian cardiovascular & thoracic annals : official journal of The Asian Society for Cardiovascular Surgery (ASCVS)
Volume31
Issue number6
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2023
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes

External IDs

PubMed 37438928

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

  • diagnostic accuracy, EBUS, FDG-PET/CT, mediastinal staging, nodal staging, SCLC

Library keywords