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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · World J Nucl Med 2020; 19(02): 124-130
DOI: 10.4103/wjnm.WJNM_48_19
Original Article

18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography in the diagnosis of suspected paraneoplastic syndromes: A retrospective analysis

Richard Bresler
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
,
Harry William III Schroeder
1   Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University Hospital, Atlanta, GA
,
David Z. Chow
2   Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
,
Ruth Lim
2   Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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Abstract

Paraneoplastic syndromes are a rare clinical presentation of tumor thought to affect 0.01% of patients with cancer. Paraneoplastic syndromes present a diagnostic challenge as a wide variety of signs and symptoms may appear. This study examines the use of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) as a diagnostic imaging tool for detecting tumor in suspected paraneoplastic syndrome cases. This single-center retrospective study included patients with suspected paraneoplastic syndrome who underwent whole-body 18F-FDG PET/CT scan between December 2005 and December 2016. Associated clinical data were gathered via electronic chart review. Patient records were reviewed for age, sex, clinical signs and symptoms, ancillary diagnostic procedures, date of diagnosis, and follow-up time. Ninety-nine patients met inclusion criteria for this study. Mean follow-up period was 1.8 years. Cancer prevalence was 12.1%. The 18F-FDG PET/CT results are as follows: 10 true positives, 5 false positives, 82 true negatives, and 2 false negatives. The diagnostic values are as follows: sensitivity 83.3%, specificity 94.3%, positive predictive value 66.7%, and negative predictive value (NPV) 97.6%. The high NPV in our study supports the effectiveness of 18F-FDG PET/CT to rule out tumor in suspected paraneoplastic syndrome. Future research aims to analyze which patients with suspected paraneoplastic syndrome would benefit most from 18F-FDG PET/CT.

Keywords

Oncology - paraneoplastic syndrome - positron emission tomography/computed tomography

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.




Publication History

Received: 23 June 2019

Accepted: 04 September 2019

Article published online:
19 April 2022

© 2020. Sociedade Brasileira de Neurocirurgia. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commecial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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