Virtual 18F-FDG PET/CT bronchoscopy for lymph node staging in non-small-cell lung cancer patients: present and future applications.

Virtual (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/computed tomography (CT) bronchoscopies provide virtually realistic, 3D endoscopic views of the airways combining anatomical and functional data at a high resolution. Today, even very small airways can be imaged by virtual bronchoscopy. (18)F-FDG PET/CT bronchoscopy images are generated from standard whole-body (18)F-FDG PET/CT scan source data without any additional radiation exposure.

Virtual 3-D ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT panendoscopy for assessment of the upper airways of head and neck cancer patients: a feasibility study.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether a virtual 3-D (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/CT panendoscopy is feasible and can be used for noninvasive imaging of the upper airways and pharyngeal/laryngeal tumours.

Methods: From (18)F-FDG PET/CT data sets of 40 patients (29 men, 11 women; age 61 ± 9 years) with pharyngeal or laryngeal malignancies virtual 3-D (18)F-FDG PET/CT panendoscopies were reconstructed and the image processing time was measured. The feasibility of assessing the oral cavity, nasopharynx, tongue base, soft palate, pharyngeal tonsils, epiglottis, aryepiglottic folds, piriform sinus, postcricoid space, glottis, subglottis, trachea, bronchi and oesophagus and of detecting primary tumours was tested.

Diagnostic accuracy of virtual 18F-FDG PET/CT bronchoscopy for the detection of lymph node metastases in non-small cell lung cancer patients.

Unlabelled: The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of (18)F-FDG PET/CT bronchoscopy for the detection of regional lymph node metastases in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients; potential differences in the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), mean SUV (SUVmean), short-axis diameter, and distance to the airways when comparing true-positive (TP), false-positive (FP), true-negative (TN), and false-negative (FN) lymph nodes; the smallest bronchus diameter accessible by virtual bronchoscopy; and the duration from the start of the virtual (18)F-FDG PET/CT bronchoscopy viewing tool until the images were displayed.

Methods: Sixty-one consecutive NSCLC patients (mean age ± SD, 58 ± 10 y) underwent whole-body (18)F-FDG PET/CT. From these data, virtual (18)F-FDG PET/CT bronchoscopies were reconstructed.