Mediastinal lymph nodes staging by 18F-FDG PET/CT for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer: A multicenter study.

e17523 Background: Accurate staging of mediastinal lymph nodes is a critical factor determining operability and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This multicenter study is to evaluate the accuracy of 18F-FDG PET/CT to detect mediastinal lymph nodes (MLN) metastases for T1-2 NSCLC. Methods: The data of patients with T1-2 NSCLC who received preoperative CT staging, FDG PET/CT staging and radical surgery were retrospectively reviewed in three centers between Oct. 2004 and Jan. 2009. The MLN metastasis was confirmed histopathologically after thoracotomy and lymph node dissection. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PPV and NPV were calculated and compared for PET and CT. Clinical and pathological factors were analyzed for the correlation with MLN metastases. Results: Eighty-six patients were enrolled. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PPV and NPV for MLN metastasis on CT were 49%, 93%, 89%, 59% and 92% respectively, with 80%, 90%, 90%, 62...