Value of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ın the diagnosis of carcinoma of unknown primary origin

Authors

  • Claudia González Espinosa Instituto Nacional de Oncología y Radiobiología. La Habana.
  • Juan Perfecto Oliva González Instituto Nacional de Oncología y Radiobiología; Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de La Habana. La Habana.
  • Aldo Martínez Ramírez Instituto Nacional de Oncología y Radiobiología; Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de La Habana. La Habana.
  • Joaquín González González Instituto Nacional de Oncología y Radiobiología; Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de La Habana. La Habana.
  • Carlos Calderón Marín Instituto Nacional de Oncología y Radiobiología. La Habana.
  • Frank Vázquez Luna Hospital General Docente “Dr. Enrique Cabrera”. La Habana.
  • Waldo Quesada Cepero Instituto Nacional de Oncología y Radiobiología. La Habana.

Keywords:

Tumor of unknown origin, CUP, PET/CT, F-FDG-PET/CT, metastases from unknown primary tumor.

Abstract

Introduction: The incidence of carcinoma of unknown primary origin in oncologic patients is from 0,5 % to 7 % at the time of diagnosis with an overall 3-year and 5-year survival of 11 % and 6 %, respectively.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of 18 F-FDG-PET/CT (18F-fluorodeoxyglucose posıtron emıssıon tomography) in the diagnosis of carcinoma of unknown primary origin (CUP).  

Material and Methods:  F-FDG-PET/CT studies were conducted in patients with CUP in the search for primary tumor with negative previous conventional studies carried out from November, 2017 to June 2018.  The final diagnosis was established by histological confirmation and/or clinical/radiological follow-up during 8 months.  

Results: A total of 44 patients were studied.  There were evidences of suggestive CUP in 19 patients; 9 of them were histologically confirmed as true-positive and only 1 was a false-positive. Of the 23 patients with negative F-FDG-PET/CT studies for primary tumor, all of them continued with the diagnosis of CUP in spite of multiples diagnostic tests. Conclusions: The FDG-PET/CT technique allowed to identify 45,2 % of the primary tumors in this study, which demonstrates that it is very useful tool for the diagnosis of metastases of unknown origin.  It is considered that F-FDG-PET/CT studies should be included earlier in the diagnostic algorithms in Cuba, which will allow to indicate subsequent complementary tests.

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Author Biographies

Claudia González Espinosa, Instituto Nacional de Oncología y Radiobiología. La Habana.

Especialista Primer Grado en Medicina Interna. Diplomada en Medicina Nuclear.

Juan Perfecto Oliva González, Instituto Nacional de Oncología y Radiobiología; Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de La Habana. La Habana.

Doctor en Ciencias. Especialista Segundo Grado en Oncología y Medicina Nuclear. Profesor Titular.

Aldo Martínez Ramírez, Instituto Nacional de Oncología y Radiobiología; Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de La Habana. La Habana.

Especialista Primer Grado en Oncología. Diplomado en Medicina Nuclear. Profesor Auxiliar.

Joaquín González González, Instituto Nacional de Oncología y Radiobiología; Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de La Habana. La Habana.

Doctor en Ciencias. Licenciado en Física Médica. Profesor Titular.

Carlos Calderón Marín, Instituto Nacional de Oncología y Radiobiología. La Habana.

Licenciado en Física Médica. Máster en Ciencias.

Waldo Quesada Cepero, Instituto Nacional de Oncología y Radiobiología. La Habana.

Licenciado en Radioquímica. Máster en Ciencias.

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Published

2019-11-26

How to Cite

1.
González Espinosa C, Oliva González JP, Martínez Ramírez A, González González J, Calderón Marín C, Vázquez Luna F, et al. Value of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ın the diagnosis of carcinoma of unknown primary origin. Rev haban cienc méd [Internet]. 2019 Nov. 26 [cited 2025 Jul. 13];18(6):873-85. Available from: https://revhabanera.sld.cu/index.php/rhab/article/view/2435

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 6: November-December 2019

Section

Clinical and pathological sciences

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