Performance of intra-procedural 18-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT-guided biopsies for lesions suspected of malignancy but poorly visualized with other modalities

We sought to evaluate the safety and the diagnostic success rate of percutaneous biopsies performed under intra-procedural (18) F-deoxyglucose (FDG) positron-emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) guidance for lesions difficult to see with conventional cross-sectional imaging. From 2011 to 2013, consecutive clinically indicated percutaneous PET/CT-guided biopsies of 106 masses (mean size, 3.3 cm; range, 0.7-15.9 cm; SD, 2.9 cm) in bones (n = 33), liver (n = 26), soft tissues (n = 18), lung (n = 15) and abdomen (n = 14) were reviewed. The biopsy procedures were performed following injection of a mean of 255 MBq (SD, 74) FDG. Mean maximal standardized uptake value (SUV) of lesions was 8.8 (SD, 6.3). A systematic review of the histopathological results and outcomes was performed. Biopsies were positive for malignancy in 76 cases (71.7 %, 76/106) and for benign tissue in 30 cases (28.3 %, 30/106). Immediate results were considered adequate for 100 PET/CT biopsies (94.3 %, 100/106) requiring no further exploration, and for the six others (5.7 %, 6/106) benign diagnoses were confirmed after surgery (n = 4) or follow-up (n = 2). The consequent overall sensitivity and the diagnostic success of biopsy were therefore 100 %. No significant differences in terms of detection of malignancy were observed between the different locations. Lesions > 2 cm or with SUV > 4 were not significantly more likely to be malignant. Complications occurred after four biopsies (3.7 %, 4/106). Intra-procedural PET/CT guidance appears as a safe and effective method and allows high diagnostic success of percutaneous biopsies for metabolically active lesions.