PET/CT improves diagnostic biopsy rates in lung cancer patients

PET/CT imaging can serve as a metabolic guide to increase the accuracy of needle biopsies in patients with suspicious lung nodules, according to a study published January 18 in the European Journal of Radiology.A team that included researchers in the U.K., Greece, and the U.S. studied whether F-18 FDG-PET/CT scans showing metabolic activity of suspicious nodules improved the accuracy of CT-guided biopsies, and the group recommended the approach based on the results.“Our study showed that the availability of PET/CT prior to the [percutaneous needle lung biopsy] improves the diagnostic biopsy rates,” wrote lead author Konstantinos Stefanidis, MD, of King’s College Hospital in London, and colleagues.CT-guided percutaneous needle biopsy is a minimally invasive procedure used to analyze tissue and is key in diagnosing suspicious pulmonary nodules, the authors explained. The accuracy of the procedure alone for identifying malignant tumors varies between 64% and 97%, and this is thought to be due to different levels of metabolic activity in the tumors, they added.F-18 FDG-PET/CT is a molecular imaging approach that can locate maximum metabolic activity regions in tumors based on glucose metabolism by cancer cells. Yet there is no set guideline recommending PET/CT scans before CT-guided lung biopsy to assess the best site for obtaining tissue, the authors noted.Thus, to provide further evidence that F-18 FDG-PET/CT can identify the most appropriate route and positioning of the...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Molecular Imaging Source Type: news