Asia Oceania Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Biology

Asia Oceania Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Biology

Seventy FDG-PET/CT cases in which nuclear medicine physicians suspected lymphoma: How reliable are we?

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Akira Toriihara 1
Masashi Nakadate 1
Shin Nakamura 2
Kazunori Kubota 3
Ukihide Tateishi 1
1 Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan
2 Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan
3 Department of Medical Informatics, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan
10.22038/aojnmb.2017.8767
Abstract
Objective(s): To validate the reliability of nuclear medicine physicians in diagnosing lymphoma using positron emission tomography/computed tomography using 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose (FDG-PET/CT) and to determine findings that reliably suggest lymphoma.
Methods: Seventy patients suspected of having lymphoma using FDG-PET/CT were enrolled in this retrospective study. Two nuclear medicine physicians read all the interpretation reports and graded the degree of suspicion by consensus (3: definitely suspicious, 2: probably suspicious, and 1: possibly suspicious). The following factors were also investigated for each patient: maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of the lesions, serum level of soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R), and the presence of splenic FDG uptake higher than that of the liver.
Results: The study group consisted of 34 lymphomas, 18 other malignancies, and 18 benign lesions according to histopathological diagnosis. No patient with a Grade 1 degree of suspicion was diagnosed as lymphoma. SUVmax and the serum level of sIL2-R could not distinguish lymphoma from other diseases. Of the 11 patients who presented with elevated splenic FDG uptake, 10 were diagnosed as having lymphoma.
Conclusion: When the degree of suspicion by nuclear medicine physicians is low, the possibility of lymphoma is also low. On the other hand, elevated splenic FDG uptake may suggest lymphoma.

 
Keywords
Lymphoma
FDG-PET/CT
SUVmax
soluble interleukin-2 receptor
Spleen
Subjects
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Asia Oceania Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Biology
Volume 5, Issue 2
July 2017
Pages 97-106