Value of positron emission tomography/ computed tomography with [18] f-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose [[18]F-FDG PET/CT] in patients with ovarian cancer

ABSTRACT

This article discusses the current role of [18]F-fluoro-deoxy-glucose [FDG] PET, CT and integrated PET/CT in the management of ovarian cancer patients. 87 PET/CT scans of 64 women with clinically suspected or pathologically proven ovarian cancer were analyzed. The findings of contrast enhanced CT [CE-CT] were interpreted by one experienced radiologist unaware of P ET/CT findings. Two experienced nuclear medicine physicians who were unaware of CE-CT findings examined PET images, evaluating localization and characterization and compared them to co-registered PET/CT images. Diagnostic accuracy was determined on a patient level and a region level. PET has significantly higher Sensitivity, specificity PPV NPV, and overall accuracy [94.7%, 86.7%, 93.1%, 89.7%, and 91.9% respectively] compared to [89.5%, 30%, 70.8%, 60% and 68.9%] for CT on patient level. The diagnostic performance of PET was also better at most anatomical sites when results were analyzed on region level. [18]F FDG PET in addition to conventional imaging modalities should represent an important step in the diagnostic flow chart of ovarian cancer patients. Particularly in patients having a high risk for the presence of extra-abdominal metastatic deposits