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Diagnostic and Prognostic Value of 18-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography in Adrenocortical Carcinoma: A Prospective Comparison with Computed Tomography

Departments of Nuclear Medicine and Endocrine Tumors (S.L., J.L., E.B., M.S.), Radiology (C.D., R.S.), Medical Physics (G.B.), Epidemiology (A.A.), and Pathology (B.C.), Institut Gustave Roussy, 94805 Villejuif Cédex, France

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Martin Schlumberger, M.D., Department of Nuclear Medicine and Endocrine Tumors, Institut Gustave Roussy, Rue Camille Desmoulins, 94805 Villejuif Cedex, France. E-mail: schlumbg{at}igr.fr.

Objective: Patients with adrenocortical cancer are submitted to multiple imaging procedures for diagnosis of recurrence and staging. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic values of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) using a combined positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT) modality, compared with thoracoabdominopelvic computed tomography (TAP-CT).

Methods: Twenty-eight consecutive patients with adrenocortical cancer referred from November 2003 to December 2004 to the Institut Gustave Roussy were included. Mean time between PET/CT and TAP-CT was 16 d. Independent readers analyzed images of each modality. The gold standard was progression on follow-up TAP-CT or pathology.

Results: A total of 269 lesions in 57 organs were depicted in 22 patients. The sensitivities for the detection of distinct lesions and the diagnosis of metastatic organs were 90 and 93% for PET/CT and 88 and 82% for TAP-CT, respectively. Twelve percent of the lesions were seen on PET/CT only and 10% on TAP-CT only. Eighteen percent of the metastatic organs were diagnosed with PET/CT only and 7% with TAP-CT only. Thirty-eight percent of the local relapses were seen only with PET/CT. PET/CT depicted three false-positive lesions. Treatment modalities were modified by PET/CT findings in five cases among which one was falsely positive. Tumor size and mitotic rate were significantly associated with FDG uptake. The intensity of FDG uptake (maximum standardized uptake value > 10) and the volume of FDG uptake (>150 ml) were significant prognostic factors for survival.

Conclusions: We show that FDG-PET/CT is complementary to TAP-CT and of special interest in the diagnosis of local relapses.

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