Diagnostic potential of [¹⁸F]FDG PET/MRI in non-small cell lung cancer lymph node metastasis: a meta-analysis

PurposeThis meta-analysis evaluated the diagnostic accuracy and diagnostic value of [F-18]FDG PET/MRI for mediastinal lymph node staging of NSCLC.MethodsRelevant articles in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library were searched until January 2023. Research evaluating [F-18]FDG PET/MRI for mediastinal lymph node staging of NSCLC was included. Pooled estimates of sensitivity, specificity, PLR, and NLR were calculated by the "Stata" software.ResultsNine researches were included, containing 618 patients. The pooled sensitivity of [F-18]FDG PET/MRI for detecting mediastinal lymph node staging of NSCLC was 0.82 (0.70-0.90), and the pooled specificity was 0.88 (0.82-0.93). PLR and NLR were 7.38 (4.73-11.52) and 0.20 (0.11-0.36), respectively. The AUC value of this imaging modality was 0.92 (0.90-0.94). The post-test probability for [F-18]FDG PET/MRI might rise to 88% when the pre-test probability was set at 50%.ConclusionsWe considered [F-18]FDG PET/MRI as an effective imaging tool with relatively high specificity and sensitivity. It has great potential to be used in the clinical management of patients in NSCLC who are amenable to early surgery. More studies with large sample sizes in the same direction are needed in future to obtain more reliable evidence-based support.