Positron emission tomography in pulmonary masses where tissue diagnosis is unhelpful or not possible

Abstract

Objective: To document the usefulness of positron emission tomography (PET) in diagnosing lung masses where tissue diagnosis is not possible or is unhelpful. Design: Cohort study (partly retrospective). Setting: Departments of positron emission tomography and diagnostic imaging of a tertiary referral dedicated cancer hospital in Melbourne. Patients: 40 of 60 consecutive patients referred for evaluation of an indeterminate lung nodule or mass, comprising 15 in whom biopsy was not possible and 25 in whom biopsy had either failed or did not confirm malignancy or a specific benign diagnosis. Main outcome measures: Accuracy of blinded reading of PET scans in determining whether the lung lesion is..