Objective: To assess the value of positron emission tomography (PET) compared with computed tomography (CT) in the initial staging of esophageal cancer.
Design: Case series.
Setting: Tertiary care veterans hospital.
Patients: Patients with newly diagnosed esophageal cancers from January 1996 through May 2001 who underwent both CT and PET scanning within 4 weeks were included in the study (n = 24). Only patients who underwent pathological or radiographic follow-up were included.
Main outcome measures: The sensitivity, specificity, and negative and positive predictive values of CT and PET were determined based on a criterion standard of pathological staging in 16 patients (67%) and follow-up imaging in 8 patients (33%).
Results: For staging regional lymph node involvement, CT and PET scans showed no statistically significant difference in sensitivity (57% and 71%, respectively) and specificity (71% and 86%, respectively). For detection of metastatic disease, CT and PET showed no significant difference in sensitivity (83% and 67%, respectively) and specificity (75% and 92%, respectively). There was no significant difference in clinical decision making when the results of both tests were discordant.
Conclusions: There was no significant difference between the 2 imaging modalities in the initial staging of esophageal cancer. The CT scan was a sensitive indicator of distant metastases, whereas PET was more specific. It is unclear what additional role PET scanning should have in the initial screening of patients.