J Korean Radiol Soc.  2007 Oct;57(4):357-363. 10.3348/jkrs.2007.57.4.357.

Reassessment of the Usefulness of 18F-FDG PET in the Evaluation of Adrenal Masses Detected on CT or MR

• Kim DJ
• Chung JJ
• Ryu YH
• Hong SW
• Yu JS
• Kim JH

• KMID: 2103891
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3348/jkrs.2007.57.4.357

Abstract

PURPOSE
To reassess the usefulness of 18F-FDG PET in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant tumors from adrenal masses detected on CT or MR.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A retrospective analysis was performed on 20 patients (n = 21), on whom PET scans were obtained with characteristically benign CT (n = 21) and MR (n = 2) findings. Seventeen patients had a proven primary malignancy and three patients had adrenal incidentalomas. PET findings were interpreted as positive if the 18F-FDG uptake of the adrenal mass was greater than or equal to that of the liver. Each adrenal mass was characterized by its size and standardized uptake value (SUV). For statistical analysis, the t-test was used to analyze results for size and SUV.
RESULTS
PET findings were positive for eight adrenal masses; two masses were pathologically proven as adrenocortical oncocytomas. The false positive rate was 38% in all patients and 41% in patients with a malignancy.
CONCLUSION
18F-FDG PET was useful in evaluating the primary lesions as well as metastases, but a high false positive rate in patients with a primary malignancy should be considered in the diagnosis of metastasis to the adrenal gland.

Keyword

Positron-emission tomography; Tomography, X-ray computed; Adrenal gland neoplasms; Adrenocortical adenoma; Adrenoma, oxyphilic; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18

MeSH Terms

Adenoma, Oxyphilic
Adrenal Gland Neoplasms
Adrenal Glands
Adrenocortical Adenoma
Diagnosis
Diagnosis, Differential
Fluorodeoxyglucose F18*
Humans
Liver
Neoplasm Metastasis
Positron-Emission Tomography
Retrospective Studies
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Fluorodeoxyglucose F18