Usefulness of fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography for investigating unexplained rising carcinoembryonic antigen levels that occur during the postoperative surveillance of lung cancer patients

Abstract

In 64% of the patients with unexplained increased CEA levels, FDG-PET provided decisive diagnostic clues guiding further diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. The selected use of FDG-PET for patients with re-elevated serum CEA levels after surgery can be a practical and effective mode of surveillance for detecting recurrent lung cancer.

18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography is useful in postoperative follow-up of asymptomatic non-small-cell lung cancer patients

“…In this study, we could demonstrate good results [sensitivity (94.4%), specificity (97.6%), PPV (89.5%), NPV (98.8%), accuracy (97.0%)] for the diagnosis of recurrences with FDG-PET/CT in asymptomatic NSCLC patients after a potentially curative operation. In fact, the diagnostic results were as high as those in previous studies [12][13][14][15]. However, in these studies [12][13][14][15], patients with various clinical symptoms and elevation of tumor markers were also included.…”

“…In recent years, studies have reported the diagnostic usefulness of FDG-PET/CT in postoperative NSCLC patients [12][13][14][15][16][17]. It was indicated that the capability for the assessment of postoperative recurrence with FDG-PET/CT was better than that with standard radiological examinations [14,17].…”

“…ACCP guidelines do not recommend FDG-PET/CT for surveillance at this time [11]. However, recent studies have demonstrated the usefulness of FDG-PET/CT for the detection of postoperative recurrence in NSCLC patients [12][13][14][15][16][17].…”

Diagnostic efficacy of PET and PET/CT for recurrent lung cancer: a meta-analysis

“…Assessors were blinded to information regarding previous clinical examinations and imaging in three PET studies (19,20,23), and were not blinded (or it was unclear) in six other PET studies (17,18,21,(24)(25)(26).…”

Utility of ^99mTc-PEG₄-E[PEG₄-c(RGDfK)]₂ in Posttherapy Surveillance of Patients with Reelevated Carcinoembryonic Antigen Levels

“…An elevation of CEA raises the suspicion of cancer recurrence, requiring the performance of imaging tests such as ultrasonography, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging for confirmation. Recently, positron emission tomography (PET) with 18 F-labeled fluorodeoxyglucose ( 18 F-FDG) has been used for this purpose, and it is reported to be superior over conventional diagnostic imaging in sensitivity [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. However, with the progress of targeted therapies, there is a growing demand for imaging modalities that allow for response assessment and pretherapeutic stratification of patients receiving such therapies [ 7 ].…”