FDG PET/CT for characterization of indeterminate lymphadenopathy: can PET feasibly function as a "metabolic biopsy"

Conclusion: For evaluation of indeterminate lymphadenopathy in this population, FDG PET/CT had very poor PPV (i.e., frequent false positive results with benign / inflammatory etiologies, as would be expected) but had very high NPV of 97%. Such strong NPV renders malignancy very unlikely in cases where FDG PET is negative (representing 33% of patients in this cohort), which may allow for more confident observation of FDG-negative cases thus potentially avoiding costly and invasive procedures such as EBUS, mediastinoscopy or CT-guided biopsies, especially in elderly patients. Research Support: N/A
Source: Journal of Nuclear Medicine - Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Tags: Lymphoma - Adult Source Type: research