Procalcitonin for Identification of Etiology in Tumor Patients with Fever of Unknown Origin

Fever is one of the most common symptoms in tumor patients, and identifying the etiology of FUO remains a continuous clinical challenge (Colpan et al., 2007; Sipahi et al., 2007). The significance of tests of white blood cells and neutrophils is decreased because of their low value due to long-term chemo radio therapy. Furthermore, the relatively long culture cycle and low positive rate make the new diagnostic methods urgent to identify the etiology in tumor patients with FUO. In the present study, the first step is to preliminary screen with PCT in tumor patients with FUO, positive patients should be highly suspected of bacterial infection; then all consecutive patients will be received dual-phase 18F-FDG SPECT examinations for the identification of the etiology. If possible, bacterial cultivation and drug sensitive test from the specimen are also taken to instruct application of the antibiotics reasonably. We reported here that dual-phase 18F-FDG SPECT in association with PCT is a useful test in the diagnosis of FUO of tumor patients.