The utility of 18F-FDG PET/CT in solitary fibrous tumors of the pleura

Objective: To demonstrate the utility of F-18-FDG PET/CT in the differentiation of benign and malignant solitary fibrous tumors of the pleura (SFTP). Materials and methods: A retrospective review was performed on the F-18-FDG PET/CT data from 17 patients with histopathologically diagnosed benign or malignant SFTP. The size, side of SFTP, presence of necrosis, calcification, pleural effusion, hilar lymphadenopathy (LAP), density on CT images (Hounsfield unit-HU), and F-18-FDG uptake (SUVmax) were recorded and compared in order to detect malignant SFTP. Statistical significance was set as p < 0.05. Results: The difference in size, presence of necrosis, and hilar LAP on CT images were statistically significant (p = 0.004, p < 0.001, p = 0.015, respectively) in a comparison of benign and malignant SFTPs. The mean HU of benign SFTP was 46.16 +/- 5.52 HU, and for malignant SFTP it was 35.03 +/- 4.61 HU (p = 0.003). The mean SUVmax was 3.02 +/- 1.02 for benign SFTP and 4.89 +/- 2.12 for malignant SFTP (p = 0.021). A cut-off value of >= 7 cm for size, <= 39.81 HU for density, and >= 3.47 for SUVmax was obtained by ROC analysis for detecting malignant SFTP. Conclusions: F-18-FDG PET/CT may have a limited role in diagnosing malignant SFTP in suspected patients. (C) 2015 Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. and SEMNIM. All rights reserved.