Test-retest repeatability and interobserver variation of healthy tissue metabolism using F-18-FDG PET/CT of the thorax among lung cancer patients

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Objectives The aim of this study was to assess the test-retest repeatability and interobserver variation in healthy tissue (HT) metabolism using 2-deoxy-2-[F-18]fluoro-d-glucose (F-18-FDG) PET/computed tomography (PET/CT) of the thorax in lung cancer patients. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted in 22 patients with non-small cell lung cancer who had two PET/CT scans of the thorax performed 3 days apart with no interval treatment. The maximum, mean and peak standardized uptake values (SUVs) in different HTs were measured by a single observer for the test-retest analysis and two observers for interobserver variation. Bland-Altman plots were used to assess the repeatability and interobserver variation. Intrasubject variability was evaluated using within-subject coefficients of variation (wCV). Results The wCV of test-retest SUVmean measurements in mediastinal blood pool, bone marrow, skeletal muscles and lungs was less than 20%. The left ventricle (LV) showed higher wCV (>60%) in all SUV parameters with wide limits of repeatability. High interobserver agreement was found with wCV of less than 10% in SUVmean of all HT, but up to 22% was noted in the LV. Conclusion HT metabolism is stable in a test-retest scenario and has high interobserver agreement. SUVmean was the most stable metric in organs with low FDG uptake and SUVpeak in HTs with moderate uptake. Test-retest measurements in LV were highly variable irrespective of the SUV parameters used for measurements.

Original languageEnglish
JournalNuclear Medicine Communications
Volume43
Issue number5
Pages (from-to)549-559
Number of pages11
ISSN0143-3636
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2022

    Research areas

  • 2-deoxy-2-[F-18]fluoro-d-glucose, healthy tissues, interobserver variation, PET-computed tomography, repeatability, standardized uptake value, thorax, POSITRON-EMISSION-TOMOGRAPHY, STANDARDIZED UPTAKE VALUES, INTERREADER AGREEMENT, MYOCARDIAL-METABOLISM, FDG UPTAKE, VARIABILITY, TUMOR, SUV, LIVER, REPRODUCIBILITY

ID: 315261169