PURPOSE: Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomographic (PET) imaging has been used extensively to diagnose cancer with high rates of sensitivity and specificity. One of its applications is to distinguish benign from malignant pulmonary nodules. It is common to observe colonic uptake on whole-body FDG-PET images. Because patients with lung cancer also tend to be in the age group with the highest incidence of colon cancer, the authors tried to assess the efficacy of FDG-PET for detecting occult colon cancer in patients referred for the evaluation of lung nodules. METHODS: The records of 500 consecutive patients referred for the evaluation of pulmonary nodules were reviewed retrospectively. Among the patients, 197 had no previous clinical or radiographic evidence of abnormalities in the gastrointestinal tract, and none had been found to have any cancer before undergoing an FDG-PET study. All colon lesions were verified either by histologic analysis or by clinical course. RESULTS: Among the 197 patients analyzed, 59 had diffuse colonic uptake in various segments of the colon. Seventeen of the patients had focal colonic uptake, five of which were proved to be colon cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The routine use of FDG PET to characterize lung lesions significantly increases the probability of detecting unexpected extrathoracic disease. In these patients, the incidental finding of colon cancer had an important effect on their treatment and may prove to be very cost-effective.
PURPOSE:Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomographic (PET) imaging has been used extensively to diagnose cancer with high rates of sensitivity and specificity. One of its applications is to distinguish benign from malignant pulmonary nodules. It is common to observe colonic uptake on whole-body FDG-PET images. Because patients with lung cancer also tend to be in the age group with the highest incidence of colon cancer, the authors tried to assess the efficacy of FDG-PET for detecting occult colon cancer in patients referred for the evaluation of lung nodules. METHODS: The records of 500 consecutive patients referred for the evaluation of pulmonary nodules were reviewed retrospectively. Among the patients, 197 had no previous clinical or radiographic evidence of abnormalities in the gastrointestinal tract, and none had been found to have any cancer before undergoing an FDG-PET study. All colon lesions were verified either by histologic analysis or by clinical course. RESULTS: Among the 197 patients analyzed, 59 had diffuse colonic uptake in various segments of the colon. Seventeen of the patients had focal colonic uptake, five of which were proved to be colon cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The routine use of FDG PET to characterize lung lesions significantly increases the probability of detecting unexpected extrathoracic disease. In these patients, the incidental finding of colon cancer had an important effect on their treatment and may prove to be very cost-effective.
Authors: Richdeep S Gill; Troy Perry; Jonathan T Abele; Eric L R Bédard; Daniel Schiller Journal: World J Surg Oncol Date: 2012-01-27 Impact factor: 2.754
Authors: F B van Hoeij; R G M Keijsers; B C A J Loffeld; G Dun; P H G M Stadhouders; B L A M Weusten Journal: Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging Date: 2014-08-20 Impact factor: 9.236
Authors: Jung Ho Shim; Joo Hyun O; Seong Il Oh; Han Mo Yoo; Hae Myung Jeon; Cho Hyun Park; Sung Hoon Kim; Kyo Young Song Journal: J Gastrointest Surg Date: 2012-06-30 Impact factor: 3.452
Authors: S T Lee; T Tan; A M T Poon; H B Toh; S Gill; S U Berlangieri; E Kraft; A J Byrne; K Pathmaraj; G J O'Keefe; N Tebbutt; A M Scott Journal: Mol Imaging Biol Date: 2007-11-10 Impact factor: 3.488