J Korean Soc Radiol.  2012 Jan;66(1):83-92. 10.3348/jksr.2012.66.1.83.

Supraclavicular Lymph Node Metastasis from Various Malignancies: Assessment with 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/CT, Contrast-Enhanced CT and Ultrasound

• Ryu EB
• Oh KS
• Jeong KS

• KMID: 2208876
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3348/jksr.2012.66.1.83

Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study is to compare the usefulness of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET)/CT, contrast-enhanced CT and ultrasound (US) for diagnosing metastatic supraclavicular lymph nodes.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This study included 53 supraclavicular lymph nodes of 48 consecutive patients with various malignancies observed on 18F-FDG PET/CT, contrast-enhanced CT and US. Detection of supraclavicular lymph nodes was determined by 18F-FDG PET/CT where uptake was greater than that of surrounding tissue and contrast-enhanced CT with a node short-axis diameter of 5 mm or more. On US, we classified the supraclavicular lymph node as benign or malignant by sonographic criteria. The diagnostic values of these modalities were compared in the detection of metastatic supraclavicular lymph nodes.
RESULTS
Metastatic supraclavicular lymph nodes were diagnosed cytologically in 44 (83%) of 53 lesions. In the detection of metastatic supraclavicular lymph nodes, the diagnostic accuracies of 18F-FDG PET/CT, contrast-enhanced CT, and US were 92%, 89%, and 91%, respectively. The specificity (67%) and negative predictive value (86%) of 18F-FDG PET/CT were higher than those of contrast-enhanced CT and US.
CONCLUSION
18F-FDG PET/CT is more useful for detecting and characterizing supraclavicular lymph nodes in patients with cancer, because of its high specificity and negative predictive value.

MeSH Terms

Electrons
Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
Humans
Lymph Nodes
Neoplasm Metastasis
Positron-Emission Tomography
Sensitivity and Specificity
Fluorodeoxyglucose F18

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