Clinical Efficacy of Pre-operative 18F-FDG-PET/CT in Marjolin's Ulcer

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Marjolin's ulcer is a rare malignancy that occur in chronic wounds or scars. Marjolin's ulcers tend to infiltrate adjacent tissue more extensively than squamous cell carcinoma that occurs in normal skin, and it is prone to recurrence and metastases, leading to a poor prognosis. Hence, its accurate diagnosis and treatment is very important. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic value and clinical efficacy of preoperative 18F-FDG-PET/CT. METHODS: The study population consisted of 27 patients who were suspected to have Marjolin's ulcer who visited this hospital between January 2009 and June 2012, and who had also received preoperative PET/CT. To confirm the diagnostic efficacy of preoperative PET/CT, the PET/CT findings of the primary lesion and the lymph node, as well as the post-operative histology results were compared to investigate the sensitivity, specificity, false-positive and false-negative rates. RESULTS: The sensitivity and the specificity for the primary lesion of the Marjolin's ulcer in the preoperative PET/CT were 93.3% and 100% respectively. The false-positive rate and the false-negative rate here were 0% and 6.7% respectively. The sensitivity and the specificity for the lymph node metastases of the Marjolin's ulcer in the preoperative PET/CT were 100% and 66.7% respectively. The false-positive rate and the false-negative rate here were 33.3% and 0% respectively. The histological results of Marjolin's ulcer showed that 14 patients had squamous cell carcinoma and 1 had sarcoma. CONCLUSION: Preoperative PET/CT used for the assessment of Marjolin's ulcer and its primary lesion showed a high level of sensitivity and specificity. It was also useful because it allowed the assessment of the primary lesion, lymph node metastases, and distant metastases with a single test. However, the specificity for lymph node metastases was relatively lower, and more research would be needed to improve this.