AUTHOR=Lei Junfang , Li Xu , Xue Wenbo , Qian Xinrui , Wang Tong , Xiang Yunuo , Zhang Yangchun , Chen Meixing , Liu Zhaohui 

TITLE=[18F]FDG PET/CT versus [18F]FDG PET/MRI in the diagnosis of lymph node metastasis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2024.1450526

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2024.1450526

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=<sec id="sec1"><title>Purpose</title><p>This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the comparative diagnostic accuracy of [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/CT versus [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/MRI in identifying lymph node metastases in individuals with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.</p></sec><sec id="sec2"><title>Methods</title><p>A comprehensive search was executed across PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science through September 2023 to identify studies evaluating the diagnostic precision of [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/CT and [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/MRI in detecting lymph node metastasis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Sensitivity and specificity were assessed through the DerSimonian-Laird method, incorporating the Freeman-Tukey transformation.</p></sec><sec id="sec3"><title>Results</title><p>The meta-analysis encompassed nine articles, involving a total of 916 patients. The overall sensitivity and specificity of [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET were 0.95 (95%CI: 0.88–1.00) and 0.95 (95%CI: 0.84–1.00). The overall sensitivity of [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/CT was 0.94 (95%CI, 0.85–0.99), whereas [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/MRI achieved a sensitivity of 1.00 (95%CI, 0.94–1.00). The findings reveal that [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/CT demonstrates comparable sensitivity to [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/MRI (<italic>p</italic> = 0.20). The overall specificity of [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/CT was 0.94 (95%CI, 0.82–1.00), whereas [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/MRI exhibited a specificity of 0.98 (95%CI, 0.93–1.00). Additionally, the results suggest that [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/CT offers similar specificity to [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/MRI (<italic>p</italic> = 0.11).</p></sec><sec id="sec4"><title>Conclusion</title><p>[<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET demonstrates high sensitivity and specificity in identifying lymph node metastasis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Furthermore, [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/CT exhibits comparable sensitivity and specificity to [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/MRI.</p></sec><sec id="sec60"><title>Systematic review registration</title><p><ext-link xlink:href="https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=496006" ext-link-type="uri" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=496006</ext-link>, PROSPERO (CRD42024496006).</p></sec>