The efficacy of preoperative PET/CT for prediction of curability in surgery for locally advanced gastric carcinoma

BACKGROUND: The benefits of preoperative (18)FDG-PET/CT for gastric cancer remain uncertain. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of preoperative (18)FDG-PET/CT on the surgical strategy for locally advanced gastric cancer retrospectively. METHODS: From January 2007 to November 2008, (18)FDG-PET/CT was performed in 142 patients who had been diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer by computed tomography or gastrofiberscope findings. RESULTS: Detection rates were 88.7% (126/142) for primary tumors and 24.6% (35/142) for local lymph nodes (LN). Nine patients with metastatic lesions underwent induction chemotherapy without operation. Of 133 patients subjected to operation, positive FDG uptake in primary tumors (p = 0.047) and local lymph nodes (p < 0.001) was related to non-curable operations. The mean standard uptake value (SUV) of primary tumors of patients who underwent non-curable operations was significantly higher than that of patients with curable operations (p = 0.001). When the SUV was greater than 5 and FDG uptake of LN was positive, non-curable operations were predicted with a sensitivity of 35.2%, a specificity of 91.0% and an accuracy of 76.7%. CONCLUSIONS: High SUV of the primary tumor and positive FDG uptake in local lymph nodes at PET/CT could predict non-curative resection in locally advanced gastric cancer. Therefore, information from preoperative PET/CT can help physician decisions regarding other modalities without laparotomy.