Gil Z, Even-Sapir E, Margalit N, Fliss DM. Integrated PET/CT system for staging and surveillance of skull base tumors.
Head Neck 2007;
29:537-45. [PMID:
17274059 DOI:
10.1002/hed.20545]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
The utility of preoperative and postoperative whole body integrated positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) scanning for staging and follow-up in patients with skull base tumors is undetermined.
METHODS
We prospectively evaluated PET-CT findings in 47 patients using 57 scans. Most (35/47, 75%) had anterior skull base tumors and the majority (74%) had advanced-stage (III-IV) disease.
RESULTS
The scans showed high sensitivity for detection of various types of malignant tumors and provided 39 items of additional information, changing the clinical staging and management of 11 patients (23%). Recurrence of primary tumors was detected in 8 patients, positive regional (neck) metastases in 3, and distant metastases in 3. The positive uptake was due to osteoradionecrosis in 2 other patients. The sensitivity of PET-CT was 0.77 and the specificity was 0.81 (0.83 positive predictive value and 0.76 negative predictive value).
CONCLUSIONS
PET-CT provides accurate data on anatomy, tumor staging, and early disease recurrence in the skull base.
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