PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Henk Stevens AU - Patricia F.A. Bakker AU - Noël J.J. Schlösser AU - Peter P. van Rijk AU - John M.H. de Klerk TI - Use of a Dual-Head Coincidence Camera and <sup>18</sup>F-FDG for Detection and Nodal Staging of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Accuracy as Determined by 2 Independent Observers DP - 2003 Mar 01 TA - Journal of Nuclear Medicine PG - 336--340 VI - 44 IP - 3 4099 - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/44/3/336.short 4100 - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/44/3/336.full SO - J Nucl Med2003 Mar 01; 44 AB - The accurate detection of lung carcinoma and the determination of its stage remain significant clinical problems. 18F-FDG PET has been shown to improve detection and staging of lung cancer and to prevent unnecessary invasive procedures. Positron imaging with dual-head gamma cameras may not be as sensitive as PET, but recent studies have shown good results with these cameras. Methods: In the present study, we investigated 100 patients, 76 of whom were male and 24 female (mean age ± SD, 60.7 ± 9.4 y), with suspected non-small cell lung cancer. 18F-FDG scanning was performed using a dual-head coincidence camera 1 h after the intravenous injection of 185 MBq of 18F-FDG. For 46 patients, attenuation correction was also performed. Two independent observers unaware of clinical status analyzed all imaging studies. TNM classification was assigned after surgical staging. Results: In 44 patients with clinically suspected bronchogenic carcinoma, no evidence of malignancy was found. However, in 56 patients a pulmonary neoplasm was demonstrated. At interobserver analysis, a κ value of 0.94 (P &lt; 0.0001) was found for detection of the primary tumor and a κ value of 0.63 (P &lt; 0.0001) was found for mediastinal staging. A sensitivity of 96%, a specificity of 93%, and an accuracy of 95% were found for detection of pulmonary neoplasm. Assessment of lymph node involvement showed a sensitivity of 50%, a specificity of 92%, and an accuracy of 77%. The sensitivity of CT in assessing lymph node involvement was 36%, the specificity was 86%, and the accuracy was 67%. Attenuation correction provided more anatomic information, but no differences were seen between attenuation-corrected and non-attenuation-corrected images for detecting lesions or lymph node involvement. Conclusion: The present study confirms earlier data showing that 18F-FDG scans obtained with dual-head coincidence cameras are useful in the detection of non-small cell lung cancer and less suitable for staging of lymph node involvement, with accuracy comparable to that of CT.