Table 1.
Characteristics of the 13 studies included
| Study | Year | No. of patients | Sex (male/ female) | Mean age, years (range) | Histology (thymoma/ thymic carcinoma) | Mean tumor size (mm) | [18F]FDG dose (MBq) | Measurement of [18F]FDG uptake | Analysis according to Masaoka or WHO classification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liu et al.[3] | 1995 | 10 | 6/4 | 47 (30–66) | 10/0 | (–) | 370 | TLR | Non-invasive thymoma, and invasive thymoma |
| Kubota et al.[4] | 1996 | 10 | 7/3 | 62 (35–83) | 7/3 | (–) | 180 | DUR | Non-invasive thymoma, invasive thymoma, and thymic carcinoma |
| Sasaki et al.[5] | 1999 | 31 | 19/12 | 58 (19–85) | 17/14 | 68 | 226 | SUV | Non-invasive thymoma, invasive thymoma, and thymic carcinoma |
| Sung et al.[6] | 2006 | 33 | 15/18 | 55 (34–68) | 17/16 | 54 | 370 | SUV | Low-risk thymoma, high-risk thymoma, and thymic carcinoma |
| El-Bawab et al.[7] | 2007 | 17 | 4/13 | 40 (25–72) | 14/3 | (–) | 370 | SUV | Non-invasive thymoma, invasive thymoma, and thymic carcinoma |
| Inoue A et al.[11] | 2009 | 46 | 29/17 | 58 (31–75) | 35/11 | (–) | 370 | SUV | Low-risk thymoma, high-risk thymoma, and thymic carcinoma |
| Luzzi et al.[10] | 2009 | 13 | (–) | (–) | 7/6 | 59 | 355 | SUV | Low-risk thymoma, high-risk thymoma, and thymic carcinoma |
| Kumar et al.[8] | 2009 | 18 | 14/4 | 38 (19–58) | 14/5 | 62 | 370 | SUV | Low-risk thymoma, high-risk thymoma, and thymic carcinoma |
| Shibata et al.[9] | 2009 | 39 | 16/23 | 56 (28–77) | 36/3 | 52 | 4.6 (MBq/kg) | SUV | Low-risk thymoma, high-risk thymoma, and thymic carcinoma |
| Kaira et al.[12] | 2010 | 49 | 23/26 | 64 (32–80) | 38/11 | 60 | 200–250 | T/M ratio | Low-risk thymoma, high-risk thymoma, and thymic carcinoma |
| Nakajo et al.[13] | 2010 | 11 | 5/6 | 55 (41–71) | 10/1 | 58 | 3.7 (MBq/kg) | SUV | Low-risk thymoma, high-risk thymoma, and thymic carcinoma |
| Igai et al.[14] | 2010 | 13 | 6/7 | 59 (36–78) | 8/5 | 47 | 3.5 (MBq/kg) | SUV | Low-risk thymoma, high-risk thymoma, and thymic carcinoma |
| Terzi et al.[15] | 2011 | 26 | 14/12 | 56 (34–85) | 18/8 | 79 | 330–400 | SUV and T/M ratio | Low-risk thymoma, high-risk thymoma, and thymic carcinoma |
DUR, differential uptake ratio, radioactivity concentration in the region of interest (Bq/mm3)/injected dose (Bq)/weight of patients (g); SUV, standardized uptake value; TLR, tumor to lung ratio; T/M ratio is the ratio of the peak SUV of the tumor to the mean SUV of the mediastinum.