Purpose: To assess the feasibility of using CT to correct specific uptake values (SUVs) for fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) in patients with nonsolid nodules.
Methods: Patients with FDG-PET/CT and thin-section CT were included in this pilot study. Thirty-five adenocarcinomas manifesting as nonsolid nodules were classified into two groups; 90-100% and 1-89% lepidic component. SUVmax was corrected based on the CT determination of the proportion of soft tissue component within the cancer (SUVatt).
Results: Both SUVmax and SUVatt increased as the percentage of the lepidic component decreased. SUVmax and SUVatt were significantly different between the groups.
Conclusion: Extent of invasiveness of nonsolid cancers (as a marker of aggressiveness) can potentially be quantified by PET/CT using a correction method that accounts for the proportion of soft tissue within the tumor.
Keywords: Adenocarcinoma; Ground-glass nodules; Lepidic component; Lung neoplasm; Standardized uptake values.
Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.