The sensitivity and specificity of (18)F-FDG PET/CT in spinal leptomeningeal metastases: the synergistic effect of the (18)F-FDG PET-CT to gadolinium-enhanced MRI

BACKGROUND: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) plays an important role in the diagnosis of leptomeningeal metastases (LM); however, some sub-centimeter lesions may be missed. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) has a high sensitivity and may play a synergistic role with MRI in diagnosing spinal LM (SLM). We aimed to retrospectively evaluate the detection of SLM with (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT ((18)F-FDG PET/CT) compared to that of whole spinal cord MRI in a single center. METHODS: Patients with SLM who had undergone (18)F-FDG PET/CT and MRI were enrolled. (18)F-FDG PET/CT imaging findings were independently reviewed by 2 nuclear medicine physicians. (18)F-FDG PET/CT findings of SLMs were described. A consistency test was conducted to assess the patient-based diagnostic results obtained by the 2 physicians. Patient-based sensitivity, accuracy, and specificity in diagnosing SLM between (18)F-FDG PET/CT and MRI of the whole spinal cord were compared using the chi-square or Fisher’s exact test. A P value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was obtained to assess the diagnostic performance of maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) to diagnose SLM. RESULTS: A total of 16 patients with SLM were included in this study from October 2010 to April 2022. The primary tumor involved the lungs, liver, ovaries, prostate, esophagus, and unknown primary site. The mean age of patients, including 13 males and 3 females, was 57.8±11.2 (range, 34–73) years. Of 16 patients with SLM, 10 had nodular diseases, 2 had linear diseases, and 4 had mixed diseases. The kappa value of the consistency test of the 2 radiologists’ diagnostic results was 0.765. The patient-based sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of (18)F-FDG PET/CT in diagnosing SLM were 87.5%, 89.2%, and 88.7%, respectively and those of whole spinal cord MRI were 75.0%, 100.0%, and 92.5%, respectively. There were no significant differences in sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy between the 2 methods, with P values of 0.654, 0.115, and 0.506, respectively. However, more nodular diseases were observed on PET/CT. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) for the prediction of SLM by SUVmax was 0.907 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.831–0.983]. When SUVmax ≥2.45, the Youden index was the largest, and the sensitivity and specificity were 89.3% and 75.7%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: (18)F-FDG PET/CT is a good choice of imaging modality for assessing SLM. In the diagnosis of SLMs, PET/CT and enhanced MRI can play a better synergistic role.