The Additional Value of FDG PET Imaging for Distinguishing N0 or N1 From N2 Stage in Preoperative Staging of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer in Region Where the Prevalence of Inflammatory Lung Disease Is High

Abstract

It has been clearly shown that PET is more accurate than CT for the differentiation of N0 or N1 from N2 disease in patients with NSCLC. However, PET imaging alone does not appear to be sufficient to replace mediastinoscopy for mediastinal staging in patients with lung cancer, especially in geographic regions with high granulomatous or inflammatory mediastinal disease prevalence.