Role of F18-FDG-PET/CT in restaging patients affected by renal carcinoma.

BACKGROUND Renalcancers account for around 3% of all cancers and the most common type of (90%) is renal cell carcinoma Five-year survival rate in renal cancer patients is 68.4%. AIM The aim of our study was to establish the role of F18-FDG-PET/CT in restaging patients with renal carcinoma who underwent partial or radical nephrectomy. Secondary aim of the study was to identify histological characteristics of the primary tumour that may be responsible for the metabolic behaviour of neoplastic lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS We retrospectively evaluated 68 patients with renal carcinoma in whom F18-FDG-PET/CT was performed. RESULTS Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of F18-FDG PET/CT were 82%, 100%, 100%, 66.7% and 86.8%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The results of our study suggest that F18-FDG PET/CT is characterised by high specificity and positive predictive value and can be useful in restaging patients affected by renal carcinoma. However, due to low negative predictive value, this method cannot be recommended for definitely ruling out suspected disease relapse.