Assessment of Fluorodeoxyglucose F18–Labeled Positron Emission Tomography for Diagnosis of High-Risk Lung Nodules

This multicenter retrospective study sought to assess the utility of PET in the diagnosis of pulmonary nodules.  It emphasized the inclusion of patient cohorts from different geographic regions and who underwent PET for different indications such as lung cancer screening or surgical evaluation.  Among 1188 patients the positive predicted value was 86% and the negative predictive value was 49%.  The authors conclude that aggressive tissue acquisition needs to be emphasized in a population of patients with a high rate of false-positive scans and unreliable utility from negative scans.