Evaluation of a new visual uptake scoring scale for 18F- fluorothymidine positron emission tomography in the diagnosis of pulmonary lesions

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this analysis was to evaluate a new visual scoring scale developed to facilitate the qualitative appraisal of lesion uptake on F-fluorothymidine PET (F-FLT-PET). METHODS: Sixty-two patients with a pulmonary lesion of unknown aetiology who had undergone an F-fluorodeoxyglucose-PET/ computed tomography (CT) suspicious for malignancy prospectively underwent an F-FLT-PET/CT. Three nuclear medicine physicians independently reviewed each F-FLT-PET/CT scan with knowledge of the location of the pulmonary lesion but blinded to the final diagnosis. They scored the lesion F-FLT uptake as follows: (0) no visible uptake; (1) marrow. Lesion mean (SU..