The clinical value of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT imaging combined with serum tumor markers in the diagnosis of single lung nodules

Objective: To estimate clinical value of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT imaging combined with serum tumor markers (CEA, NSE, CFRA21-1) in the diagnosis of single lung nodules. Methods: 91 cases of patients with single lung nodules confirmed by pathologic results received ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT imaging. At the same time, 4 mL of venous blood was collected and the serum was stored in the freezer. The serum levels of tumor markers CEA, NSE, CFRA21-1 were then measured by radioimmunoassay method. Results: The sensitivity of the ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT examination was 84.8% (56/66) for the detection of malignant tumor of lung single nodules, and the accuracy of the diagnosis of pulmonary single nodules was 86.8% (79/91); The sensitivity of the ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT imaging combined with blood tumor markers (CEA + NSE + CFRA21-1) was 93.9% (62/66) for the detection of pulmonary single nodular malignancy, and the accuracy of the diagnosis of pulmonary single nodules was 95.6% (87/91). Compared with ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT, the sensitivity and accuracy of combination method were significantly different (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT imaging combined with blood tumor markers (CEA + NSE + CFRA21-1) can improve the sensitivity and accuracy of PET/CT imaging in the diagnosis of pulmonary single nodules, with high clinical values. (authors)