Commentary: A guiding light in the night?: Maximum standardized uptake value associated with high-risk features in lung adenocarcinoma

Positron emission tomography (PET) scans have become a key part of the staging work up for non-small cell lung carcinoma. In the current issue, Koike et al. performed a retrospective study of 297 patients who underwent resection for stage 0-IA lung adenocarcinoma and found that the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) was associated with high-risk features including visceral pleural involvement, pulmonary metastasis, nodal disease, and lymphovascular invasion.1 While this is a potentially important finding since many patients, even those with early stage lung cancer, will develop recurrent disease, there are some weaknesses in the study design.
Source: Seminars in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery - Category: Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery Authors: Tags: THORACIC – Commentary Source Type: research