Table 3. Categorisation of the influence of PET-CT on MDT decision making.
| Category | CTS finding | PET-CT finding | n=238 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| No change in recommendation: PET-CT confirmed findings of the CTS |
Curative disease |
Curative disease |
147 (61.8)a |
| Change in recommendation: PET-CT showed no metastases where the CTS raised this possibility |
Indeterminate, suspicion of palliative disease |
Curative disease |
25 (10.5)b |
| Change in recommendation: PET-CT showed metastases where the CTS did not |
Curative disease or indeterminate |
Palliative disease |
43 (18.1)c |
| Change in recommendation: PET-CT prompted additional staging investigations | Curative disease | ‘Hotspot' distant from the primary tumour | 23 (9.7)d |
Abbreviations: CTS=computerised tomography; PET-CT= positron emission tomography-computed tomography; SCC=squamous cell carcinoma.
Histological cell types within each group.
a
Adenocarcinoma=106, SCC=40, unknown=1.
b
Adenocarcinoma=16, SCC=7, unknown=2.
c
Adenocarcinoma=29, SCC=13, unknown=1.
d
Adenocarcinoma=17, SCC=6.