Clinical implication of 18F-FDG PET/CT in carcinoma of unknown primary

The value of F-18-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) in the detection of carcinoma of unknown primary (CUP) differs among the studies. This study aimed to evaluate the role of F-18-FDG PET/CT in CUP. Fifty-one patients (19 women, 32 men) with metastasis confirmed by histopathology from an unknown primary tumor were included in this study. Patients received 370 MBq of F-18-FDG intravenously, and PET/CT was performed at 60 minutes after injection. Primary tumor sites were detected in 5 of 51 patients (9.6%): in 2 patients with carcinoma of the lung, in 1 patient with carcinoma of the gallbladder, in 1 patient with carcinoma of the esophagus, and in 1 patient with carcinoma of the stomach. No primary tumor was discovered in the remaining 46 patients (90.4%) during the follow-up. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of F-18-FDG PET/CT were 100%, 80.4%, and 82.4%. The positive and negative predictive values were 35.7 and 100%, respectively. Based on the data presented, F-18-FDG PET/CT has a clinical implicative value in detecting the primary tumor of CUP. PET/CT can be useful to rule out the possibility of detecting the primary tumor during the follow-up.