Table 1.
Study characteristics
| Author, published year | Country | Institution | Enrollment period | Conventional imaging | Reference standard | No. of patients | Design | Location of metastases | Histology | Primary location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alberini Jl, 2003 | Belgium | University Hospital Sart Tilman | NR | CT all | mixed | 41 | R | Bone : 14 Intracranial : 10 LN_others : 8 Skin : 2 Pleura : 1 |
AdenoCa : 20 PoorlyDiffCa : 5 SmallCellCa : 5 SqcCa : 4 Lymphoma : 2 Neuroendocrine : 2 Mesothelioma : 1 Myeloma : 1 Other : 1 |
Lung : 16 Breast : 3 Colorectal : 3 Hepatobiliary : 2 Head and Neck : 1 Pancreas : 1 |
| Bakhshayeshkaram M, 2016 | Iran | Masih Daneshvari Hospital | May 2013-May 2015 | CT all | mixed | 62 | R | Bone : 11 Other : 10 Liver : 8 Lung : 8 Intracranial : 5 LN_cervical : 4 Other (not reported) : 4 Peritoneum : 2 |
AdenoCa : 29 PoorlyDiffCa : 14 Unknown : 12 SqcCa : 5 Neuroendocrine : 2 |
Lung : 13 Hepatobiliary : 2 Pancreas : 2 Colorectal : 1 Head and Neck : 1 Muscle : 1 |
| Bruna C, 2007 | France | Hopital de Brabois | January 2003-January 2006 | CT almost all; MRI for some | mixed | 37 | R | Multiple : 14 LN_cervical : 10 LN_axilla : 6 Bone : 5 LN_inguinal : 5 |
AdenoCa : 17 SqcCa : 14 PoorlyDiffCa : 6 |
Breast : 3 Lung : 3 Colorectal : 2 Brain : 1 Head and Neck : 1 Ovarian : 1 Renal : 1 Thyroid : 1 Uterus : 1 |
| Dakendar MR, 2011 | India | Tata Memorial Hospital | June 2005-July 2009 | CT or MRI almost all | Pathology & not done | 40 | R | LN_cervical : 5 | NR | Esophageal : 2 Lung : 2 Head and Neck : 1 |
| Deron PB, 2011 | Belgium | University Hospital of Ghent | November 2002-November 2007 | CT all | Mixed | 18 | R | LN_cervical : 18 | SqcCa: 18 | NA |
| Elboga U, 2014 | Turkey | Gaziantep University | October 2009-May 2014 | NR | path only | 112 | R | LN_cervical : 40 LN_others : 33 Bone : 15 Lung : 13 Liver : 8 Other (not reported) : 3 |
AdenoCa : 61 PoorlyDiffCa : 32 SqcCa : 19 |
Lung : 18 NA : 7 Pancreas : 5 Breast : 2 Colorectal : 1 Thyroid : 1 Uterus : 1 |
| Fulop M, 2012 | Hungary | National Institute of Oncology (Budapest) | January 2006-December 2010 | NR | Pathology & unknown | 77 | R | LN_cervical : 77 | NR | NA |
| Garin E, 2007 | France | (2 centers) Centre Eugene Marquis & Centre Rene Gauducheau | March 2002 - January 2005 | CT all | Mixed | 51 | P | LN_cervical : 15 Multiple : 14 LN_others : 11 Intracranial : 3 Bone : 2 Pleura : 2 Cardiac : 1 Pancreas : 1 Skin : 1 Visceral : 1 |
AdenoCa : 20 SqcCa : 19 PoorlyDiffCa : 11 Sarcoma : 1 |
Lung : 7 Head and Neck : 3 Esophageal : 1 Peritoneum : 1 |
| Gutte H, 2005 | Denmark | Copenhagen University Hospital (no overlap; checked) | January 2000-December 2010 | NR | NR | 71 | R | NR | NR | NA |
| Hu M, 2011 | China | Shandong Cancer Hospital | October 2004 - January 2009 | NR | mixed | 149 | R | LN_cervical : 34 LN_others : 30 Bone : 24 Lung : 14 Other (not reported) : 13 Pleura : 13 Peritoneum : 10 Skin : 6 Liver : 5 |
PoorlyDiffCa : 49 AdenoCa : 47 SqcCa : 20 |
NA |
| Joshi U, 2004 | Netherlands | VU University Medical Center (no overlap; checkd) | July 1997-December 2000 | NR | mixed | 50 | R | LN_cervical : 17 Liver : 7 Multiple : 7 Bone : 6 Lung : 6 Pleura : 6 Soft_tissue : 6 Intracranial : 4 Skin : 4 |
AdenoCa : 48 Unknown : 6 Neuroendocrine : 2 PoorlyDiffCa : 2 SmallCellCa : 2 SqcCa : 2 |
Lung : 8 Breast : 2 Colorectal : 1 Hepatobiliary : 1 Renal : 1 Stomach : 1 Thyroid : 1 Uterus : 1 |
| Jungehülsing M, 2000 | Germany | University of Cologne | May 1994-July 1998 | NR | mixed | 27 | R | LN_cervical : 26 Intracranial : 1 |
SqcCa: 18 AdenoCa : 4 PoorlyDiffCa : 2 Melanoma : 1 Other : 1 Unknown : 1 |
Head and Neck : 5 Lung : 2 |
| Karapolat I, 2012 | Turkey | Şifa University School Medicine | March 2008-May 2011 | CT or MRI almost all | mixed | 20 | R | LN_cervical : 20 | SqcCa: 16 PoorlyDiffCa : 3 AdenoCa : 1 |
Head and Neck : 5 Esophageal : 1 Lung : 1 |
| Kolesnikov-Gauthier H, 2005 | France | Henri Mondor University | April 1999-March 2003 | NR | mixed | 25 | P | LN_others : 6 Intracranial : 5 LN_mediastinum : 5 Multiple : 3 LN_cervical : 2 Pleura : 2 Bone : 1 Peritoneum : 1 |
AdenoCa : 13 PoorlyDiffCa : 12 |
Lung : 6 Ovarian : 1 |
| Lassen U, 1999 | Denmark | Rigshospitalet, University Hospital, Copenhagen (no overlap; checked) | April 1996-September 1997 | NR | mixed | 20 | R | LN_cervical : 11 Bone : 4 Chest : 1 Intracranial : 1 Pericardial : 1 Pleura : 1 Skin : 1 |
PoorlyDiffCa : 10 SqcCa : 6 AdenoCa : 4 |
Lung : 8 Head and Neck : 1 |
| Lonneux M, 2000 | Belgium | Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc | NR | NR | mixed | 24 | R | Intracranial : 8 Liver : 3 LN_cervical : 3 Pleura : 3 Bone : 2 LN_axilla : 2 Soft_tissue : 2 Eye : 1 |
AdenoCa : 18 PoorlyDiffCa : 2 SqcCa : 2 Unknown : 2 |
Lung : 9 Breast : 1 Colorectal : 1 Head and Neck : 1 Stomach : 1 |
| Mantaka P, 2003 | Germany | Johann Wolfgang Goethe University of Frankfurt | NR | CT or MRI all | mixed | 25 | P | LN_cervical : 14 LN_others : 7 Lung : 3 Liver : 1 |
AdenoCa : 8 SqcCa : 7 PoorlyDiffCa : 3 SmallC ellCa : 3 Other : 2 Unknown : 2 |
Lung : 6 Breast : 3 Ovarian : 1 Pancreas : 1 Stomach : 1 |
| Padovani D, 2009 | Italy | Padova University Hospital | January 2001-September 2006 | CT all; MR in some | NR | 13 | R | LN_cervical : 13 | SqcCa : 5 Lymphoma : 1 Sarcoma : 1 Unknown : NA |
Head and Neck : 5 Bone : 1 Lung : 1 |
| Park JS, 2011 | Korea | Seoul National University Hospital | January 2003-September 2005 | NR | mixed | 20 | R | LN_cervical : 6 Bone : 4 LN_abdomen : 3 LN_axilla : 2 Peritoneum : 2 Intracranial : 1 Skin : 1 Visceral : 1 |
PoorlyDiffCa : 11 AdenoCa : 6 SqcCa : 2 Sarcoma : 1 |
NA |
| Pelosi E, 2006 | Italy | ASQ San Giovanni Battista | June 2004-June 2005 | NR | mixed | 68 | R | LN_cervical : 21 LN_axilla : 11 Pleura : 10 Bone : 7 Liver : 6 LN_inguinal : 4 Multiple : 3 Intracranial : 2 LN_RP : 2 LN_mediastinum : 1 Skin : 1 |
PoorlyDiffCa : 37 AdenoCa : 18 SqcCa : 8 Melanoma : 4 Other : 1 |
Lung : 9 Head and Neck : 6 Pancreas : 5 Colorectal : 2 Uterus : 2 |
| Rades D, 2001 | Germany | Hannover Medical College | May 1998 - October 2000 | CT almost all | mixed | 42 | R | LN_cervical : 25 LN_axilla : 5 Bone : 4 Liver : 2 LN_inguinal : 2 Intracranial : 1 LN_mediastinum : 1 LN_RP : 1 Pleura : 1 |
SqcCa : 24 AdenoCa : 11 PoorlyDiffCa : 7 |
Head and Neck : 7 Lung : 5 Anal : 1 Breast : 1 Hepatobiliary : 1 Ovarian : 1 Urethra : 1 Vagina : 1 |
| Regelink G, 2002 | Netherlands | (2 centers) University Hospital Groningen and VU Medical Centre (no overlap; checked) | January 1994-November 2000 | CT or MRI all | mixed | 50 | R | LN_cervical : 50 | SqcCa : 30 AdenoCa : 19 Neuroendocrine : 1 |
Head and Neck : 13 Esophageal : 2 Lung : 1 |
| Reinert CP, 2020 | Germany | Tuebingen University Hospital | April 2013 - June 2018 | CT or MRI almost all | NR | 155 | R | Other (not reported) : 45 LN_cervical : 32 Soft_tissue : 17 Liver : 14 Bone : 13 Intracranial : 12 LN_axilla : 11 Lung : 7 Peritoneum : 4 |
SqcCa : 67 AdenoCa : 26 Neuorendocrine : 19 PoorlyDiffCa : 3 Other : 2 |
Others : 15 Lung : 9 Breast : 6 Head and Neck : 6 Pancreas : 1 |
| Rossi M, 2015 | Italy | Ospedale Maggiore | NR | NR | pathology only | 172 | R | NR | NR | Lung : 11 Head and Neck : 10 Colorectal : 6 Lymph Nodes : 6 Hepatobiliary : 4 Ovarian : 4 Breast : 3 Pancreas : 3 Muscle : 2 Stomach : 2 Chest : 1 Prostate : 1 Renal : 1 Testicular : 1 Thyroid : 1 |
| Saidha NK, 2013 | India | Command Hospital Air Force | May 2008-May 2010 | CT or MRI all | Pathology & unknown | 50 | R | LN_cervical : 16 Peritoneum : 8 LN_axilla : 7 LN_inguinal : 7 LN_mediastinum : 4 Liver : 3 Bone : 2 Intracranial : 2 LN_RP : 1 |
AdenoCa : 22 PoorlyDiffCa : 15 SqcCa : 13 |
Lung : 6 Head and Neck : 5 Colorectal : 3 Stomach : 2 Anal : 1 Breast : 1 Esophageal : 1 Pancreas : 1 Uterus : 1 |
| Sarma M, 2015 | India | Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Center | NR | NR | mixed | 38 | P | LN_cervical : 38 | NR | NA |
| Scott CL, 2005 | Australia | Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre | January 1997-May 2000 | CT almost all; MRI some | mixed | 31 | R | Liver : 9 Lung : 9 Abdomen : 4 Other (not reported) : 3 Intracranial : 2 LN_axilla : 2 Bone : 2 Skin : 1 Chest : NA |
AdenoCa : 22 | Lung : 4 Pancreas : 2 Esophageal : 1 Renal : 1 |
| Stokkel MP, 1999 | Netherlands | University Hospital Utrecht | NR (consecutive) | CT all | mixed | 10 | R | LN_cervical : 10 | SqcCa : 9 PoorlyDiffCa : 1 |
Head and Neck : 5 |
| Su YY, 2016 | Taiwan | Chang Gung Memorial Hospital | September 2006-May 2014 | NR | pathology only | 54 | R | LN_cervical : 54 Bone : 4 Multiple : 4 LN_others : 2 Visceral : 2 |
AdenoCa : 44 PoorlyDiffCa : 8 Unknown : 2 |
Head and Neck : 7 Esophageal : 4 Lung : 1 Stomach : 1 |
| Subramaniam RM, 2016 | USA | Multicenter (National Oncologic PET Registry) | May 2006-April 2009 | NR | NR | 403 | P | Liver : 115 Bone : 78 LN_others : 69 Lung : 46 |
NR | NR |
| Talaat O, 2019 | Egypt | (multi) National Cancer Institute of Egypt, Zagazig University Hospital | January 2011-October 2015 | CT or MRI all | mixed | 123 | P | Bone : 36 LN_others : 27 Liver : 21 Intracranial : 13 Other (not reported) : 11 Pleura : 10 Lung : 5 |
PoorlyDiffCa : 52 Unknown : 35 NA : 34 SqcCa : 2 |
Lung : 16 Breast : 9 Pancreas : 9 Prostate : 6 Colorectal : 5 Ovarian : 5 Lymph Nodes : 4 Head and Neck : 3 Hepatobiliary : 3 Thyroid : 3 Chest : 2 Renal : 2 Uterus : 2 Bladder : 1 Brain : 1 |
| Trampal C, 2000 | Sweden | Uppsala University | NR | NR | mixed | 12 | R | Multiple : 3 LN_axilla : 2 LN_cervical : 2 Adrenal : 1 Cava : 1 Intracranial : 1 LN_mediastinum : 1 Lung : 1 |
NR | Breast : 2 Lung: 1 Pancreas : 1 |
| Wang G, 2013 | China | Sun Yat-sen University | January 2006-June 2010 | NR (but described as poor work-up) | mixed | 142 | R | LN_cervical : 56 Bone : 31 Liver : 25 Pleura_and_peritoneum : 12 Lung : 8 LN_axilla : 4 Pleura : 4 Intracranial : 3 LN_inguinal : 2 LN_RP : 1 Thyroid : 1 |
Unknown : 64 AdenoCa : 41 SqcCa : 35 Other : 3 Sarcoma : 1 NA : 1 |
Lung : 38 Head and Neck : 11 Colorectal : 6 Pancreas : 4 Hepatobiliary : 2 Ovarian : 2 Thyroid : 2 Prostate : 1 |
| Wartski M, 2007 | France | Cancer Research Centre Rene | October 2002 - March 2005 | CT or MRI all | pathology & not done | 38 | R | LN_cervical : 23 | SqcCa : 32 PoorlyDiffCa : 4 Other : 2 |
Head and Neck : 13 |
| Wong WL, 2003 | United Kingdom | Mount Vernon Hospital | January 1999 - September 2000 | CT or MRI all | mixed | 17 | R | LN_cervical : 34 | SqcCa : 16 PoorlyDiffCa : 1 |
Head and Neck : 5 |
| Wu ZJ, 2007 | China | Huazhong University of Science and Technology Union Hospital | September 2003-November 2005 | CT in more than half | mixed | 34 | R | LN_cervical : 10 Peritoneum : 4 Bone : 3 LN_axilla : 3 Intracranial : 2 Liver : 2 LN_inguinal : 2 Kidney : 1 Pleura : 1 Pleura_and_peritoneum : 1 Thyroid : 1 |
AdenoCa : 22 Unknown : 6 SqcCa : 3 Melanoma : 2 PoorlyDiffCa : 1 |
Lung : 8 Colorectal : 3 Ovarian : 2 Breast : 1 Esophageal : 1 Head and Neck : 1 Pancreas : 1 |
| Yu X, 2016 | China | Tianjin Cancer Institute and Hospital | January 2006 - October 2014 | NR | mixed | 449 | R | LN_cervical : 174 LN_others : 169 Bone : 49 Intracranial : 22 Liver : 15 Lung : 8 Pleura : 5 Adrenal : 2 Ovary : 2 Pericardial : 2 Bladder : 1 Eye : 1 Peritoneum : 1 |
AdenoCa : 211 SqcCa : 121 PoorlyDiffCa : 76 Melanoma : 19 Other : 18 Sarcoma : 4 |
Lung : 40 Head and Neck : 31 Pancreas : 13 Small intestine : 8 Stomach : 6 Ovarian : 4 Colorectal : 3 Esophageal : 3 Renal : 2 Breast : 1 Hepatobiliary : 1 Penis : 1 Prostate : 1 Uterus : 1 |
| Zhao K, 2012 | China | First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University | July 2007-July 2011 | NR | pathology & unknown | 25 | R | LN_cervical : 25 | PoorlyDiffCa : 13 SqcCa : 11 Other : 1 |
Head and Neck : 6 Lung : 3 Thyroid : 2 Chest : 1 |
CT = computed tomography; LN = lymph node; MRI = magnetic resonance imaging; NA = not available; NR = not reported; P = prospective; R = retrospective; RP = retroperitoneal; SmallCellCa = small cell carcinoma