The role of ~(18)F-FDG PET/CT in detecting recurrence and metastasis of colorectal cancer

In this work,positron emission tomography/computed tomography(PET/CT) with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose(18F-FDG) was evaluated for detecting recurrence and metastasis of colorectal cancer.18F-FDG PET/CT was studied in 63 patients with colorectal cancer after surgery.The diagnosis of recurrent tumor and/or metastasis was based on pathologic examination,multi-modality imaging and clinical follow-up for over six months.The diagnostic competent of PET/CT was assessed by comparing the clinical findings.In a total of 63 patients,recurrent and/or metastasis tumors were proved in 45 patients.Based on the patient number,the sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of PET/CT in detecting recurrent tumor and/or metastasis were 95.6%,83.3% and 92.1%,respectively.Based on the lesions,the sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of PET/CT were 96.9%,66.7% and 95.7%,respectively.More lesions were detected by 18F-FDG PET than CT(χ2=6.449,P=0.011).Combining 18F-FDG with PET/CT changed the re-staging of 13 patients(20.6%),with upstaging in 12 patients and down-staging in one patient.It can be concluded that 18F-FDG PET/CT has an important clinical value in detecting recurrent tumor and/or metastasis of colorectal cancer.