Utility of F-18 FDG PET/CT in screening for paraneoplastic neurological syndromes

• Published in: Clinical nuclear medicine Vol. 37; no. 1; p. 39
• Main Authors: Matsuhisa, Akiyuki, Toriihara, Akira, Kubota, Kazunori, Makino, Tomoko, Mizusawa, Hidehiro, Shibuya, Hitoshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.01.2012
• Subjects: Aged; Female; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; Humans; Male; Mass Screening - methods; Paraneoplastic Syndromes, Nervous System - diagnostic imaging; Positron-Emission Tomography - methods; Radiopharmaceuticals; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Tomography, X-Ray Computed - methods
• ISSN: 1536-0229
• DOI: 10.1097/rlu.0b013e3182393390

The aim of this study was to assess the utility of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) for the investigation of patients with suspected paraneoplastic neurologic syndrome (PNS). We reviewed the whole-body fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT studies (ordered by the neurology department) performed at our hospital between December 2005 and November 2010; 27 cases (16 men, 11 women; mean age, 65 years) who were suspected of having PNS were selected. Of the 27 patients, 6 (22%) had an abnormal FDG uptake. Of these 6 patients, 5 (19%) were histologically confirmed as having a malignancy. Of the 27 patients, 7 were tested for the presence of well-characterized paraneoplastic antibodies (anti-Hu, anti-Ri, anti-Yo); 1 had anti-Hu, but the patient did not have an abnormal FDG uptake or malignancy. PET/CT may be a useful screening tool for patients with clinically suspected PNS who do not exhibit well-characterized paraneoplastic antibodies. Therefore, we recommended that PET/CT should be performed for patients with clinically suspicious PNS regardless of the presence of well-characterized paraneoplastic antibodies.