Positron emission tomography in the initial staging of XXXX .

@entity1 @entity418
OBJECTIVE: To assess the value of positron emission tomography (PET) compared with computed tomography (CT) in the initial staging of @entity418 . DESIGN: Case series. SETTING: Tertiary care veterans hospital. @entity1 : @entity1 with newly diagnosed @entity418 from January 1996 through May 2001 who underwent both CT and PET scanning within 4 weeks were included in the study (n = 24). Only @entity1 who underwent pathological or radiographic follow-up were included. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The sensitivity, specificity, and negative and positive predictive values of CT and PET were determined based on a criterion standard of pathological staging in 16 @entity1 (67%) and follow-up imaging in 8 @entity1 (33%). RESULTS: For staging regional lymph node involvement, CT and PET scans showed no statistically significant difference in sensitivity (57% and 71%, respectively) and specificity (71% and 86%, respectively). For detection of metastatic disease, CT and PET showed no significant difference in sensitivity (83% and 67%, respectively) and specificity (75% and 92%, respectively). There was no significant difference in clinical decision making when the results of both tests were discordant. CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant difference between the 2 imaging modalities in the initial staging of @entity418 . The CT scan was a sensitive indicator of distant metastases, whereas PET was more specific. It is unclear what additional role PET scanning should have in the initial screening of @entity1 .
