Abstract:
Objective To compare the diagnostic values of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT and PET/MRI in colorectal cancer liver metastases.
Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on data collected from 27 patients with suspected colorectal cancer liver metastases, including 19 males and 8 females aged 28–78 (60.6±12.2) years old who underwent whole-body 18F-FDG PET/CT and upper abdomen 18F-FDG PET/MRI examination in Ningbo Mingzhou Hospital from September 2018 to September 2019. The result of histopathological examination and imaging follow-up served as the reference standards. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of both methods in the diagnosis of liver metastases were calculated. Liver metastases lesions were divided into three groups according to size: lesion length≤1 cm, 1 cm< lesion length≤2 cm, and lesion length>2 cm. The sensitivity of 18F-FDG PET/CT and PET/MRI in each group were calculated. McNemar test was used to compare the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the two methods in the diagnosis of liver metastases. χ2 test was used to compare the PPV and NPV of the two methods in the diagnosis of liver metastases.
Results Based on 27 patients with colorectal cancer analysis, the sensitivity and accuracy of 18F-FDG PET/MRI in the diagnosis of liver metastases (94% (15/16) and 96% (26/27)) were higher than those of PET/CT (81% (13/16) and 89% (24/27)), but the difference was not statistically significant (McNemar test, both P>0.05). Based on lesion analysis, mong the 118 liver lesions found in the 27 patients, 72 lesions were liver metastases and 46 lesions were benign liver lesions. The sensitivity, accuracy, and NPV of 18F-FDG PET/MRI in the diagnosis of liver metastases (85% (61/72), 91% (107/118) and 81% (46/57)) were significantly higher than those of PET/CT (63% (45/72), 76% (90/118) and 63% (45/72); McNemar test, χ2=5.072, all P<0.05). The sensitivity of 18F-FDG PET/MRI (63% (17/27)) for lesions with length≤1 cm was significantly higher than that of PET/CT (7% (2/27); McNemar test, P<0.05).
Conclusion Compared with 18F-FDG PET/CT, 18F-FDG PET/MRI has higher diagnostic value in colorectal cancer liver metastases, especially for lesion with length≤1 cm.