Title:Italian Tailored Assessment of Lung Indeterminate Accidental Nodule by Proposing a Segmental Pet/Computed Tomography (S-Pet/Ct): Rationale And Study Design of a Retrospective, Multicenter Trial
Volume: 11
Issue: 1
Author(s): Laura Evangelista, Marco Spadafora*, Leonardo Pace, Luigi Mansi and Alberto Cuocolo
Affiliation:
- San Giuseppe Moscati Hospital, Avellino,Italy
Keywords:
Single pulmonary nodule, diagnostic performance, FDG PET/CT, radiobiology, cost-analysis, SUV, SPN.
Abstract: Background: The Italian Tailored Assessment of Lung Indeterminate Accidental Nodule
(ITALIAN) is a retrospective, multicenter trial designed to compare the diagnostic information provided
by segmental positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) (s-PET/CT) with those
of whole body (wb)-PET/CT in patients with single pulmonary nodules (SPN). This report describes the
details and implications of the ITALIAN trial design.
Methods and Results: Between September 2016 and May 2017, 502 consecutive patients (302 men,
mean age 67±12 years) with SPN undergoing 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT were enrolled.
PET/CT images will be visually and semiquantitatively evaluated. For visual analysis, a 4-point scoring
system (1=absent; 2=mild; 3=moderate and 4=intense) will be used; for semiquantitative analysis,
maximum standardized uptake value (SUV) in the SPN and mean SUV in the mediastinal blood pool
and in the liver will be computed.
Conclusion: The results of this trial might help to define the role of s-PET/CT in patients with SPN.
This trial will also evaluate the impact on radiobiology and costs subsequent the introduction of this
alternative imaging acquisition modality.
