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Combination imaging technique detected recurrence in sarcoma
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Combination analysis with [18F] fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT was 20% more accurate than contrast-enhanced CT alone in detecting bone or soft tissue sarcoma, according to study results.
Researchers evaluated the diagnostic accuracy and incremental value of [18F] fluorodeoxyglucose (18FDG) PET/CT in a cohort of patients with a history of sarcoma.
Eligible patients had a history of bone or soft tissue disease, had documented complete remission and underwent 18FDG PET/CT.
Forty-three patients underwent 18FDG PET and 30 underwent contrast-enhanced spiral CT. These analyses were analyzed independently by two separate readers. Combined 18FDG PET/CT images were analyzed in consensus by both readers.
The researchers created a 5-point scale to report imaging findings as malignant, benign or equivocal. They used histopathology to validate 24 of the results and clinical follow-up to validate 19 of them.
Results indicated that 18FDG PET/CT images had greater sensitivity than contrast-enhanced spiral CT alone (94% vs. 92%). The combined images also had superior specificity than contrast-enhanced CT alone (78% vs. 67%). The result was a significantly greater level of accuracy for the combined imaging procedure (93% vs. 73%; P=.03).
The sensitivity of the combined image was particularly effective in detecting local recurrence or soft tissue lesions (83% vs. 50%). The specificity in detecting local recurrence was 100% for the combined scan and for CT alone.
For bone metastases, 18FDG PET/CT was linked to superior sensitivity (100% vs. 85%) and specificity (100% vs. 88%) when compared with contrast-enhanced CT alone.
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