OBJECTIVETo assess the value ofF-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) positron emission tomography-CT (PET-CT) in detection of primary tumor and pelvic lymph node metastasis in International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stages ⅠA2-ⅡA cervical cancer.

METHODSThe clinical data of 91 patients with FIGO stagesⅠA2-ⅡA cervical cancer were retrospectively analyzed. The sensitivity ofF-FDG PET-CT in detection of cervical cancer was calculated. The long diameter, short diameter and SUVmax were compared between metastatic lymph nodes (MLN) and non-metastatic lymph nodes (NMLN). The optimal cut-off values of different indexes were determined by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and area under curve (AUC), and the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were calculated.

RESULTS F-FDG PET-CT examinations were positive in 89 patients (89/91, 96.7%). The short diameters of NMLN and MLN were (6.50±2.31)mm and (4.21±1.49)mm(=4.855,<0.05); the SUVmax of NMLN and MLN were 4.56±3.34 and 1.92±1.41(=31.685,<0.05). ROC AUCs of the short diameter and SUVmax in diagnosis of metastatic lymph nodes were 0.802 and 0.861. Taken short diameter ≥ 5.05 mm and SUVmax ≥ 2.05 as cut-off values, the corresponding sensitivity, specificity and accuracy in diagnosis of metastatic lymph nodes were 85.0%, 93.0% and 86.8%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS F-FDG PET-CT is sensitive to detect primary lesion and pelvic lymph node metastases in FIGO stages ⅠA2-Ⅱ A cervical cancer, and the highest diagnostic accuracy may be obtained by taking short diameter ≥ 5.05 mm and SUVmax ≥ 2.05 as the standard.