Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36624425›Full record

SynthesisBMC cancer2023

Comparison of whole-body 18F-FDG PET/CT and PET/MRI for distant metastases in patients with malignant tumors: a meta-analysis.

Cici Zhang, Zhishan Liang, Wei Liu, Xuwen Zeng, Yuzhen Mo

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC cancer, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
5.7field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

15 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Comparing the diagnostic efficacy of [Abdominal radiology (New York) · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Comparing the diagnostic efficacy of [Frontiers in medicine · 2025
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  4. [Frontiers in medicine · 2024
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  5. [Frontiers in medicine · 2024
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  12. A prospective study to compare the diagnostic accuracy ofJournal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2024
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Cici Zhang *Department of Radiology, Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital, Guangzhou, China.
Zhishan Liang *Department of Cardiology, The People's Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Nanning, China.
Wei LiuDepartment of Breast, Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital, Guangzhou, China.
Xuwen ZengDepartment of Radiology, Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital, Guangzhou, China.
Yuzhen MoDepartment of Radiotherapy, Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital, No.396, TongFu Road, HaiZhu District, Guangzhou, 510220, Guangdong, China. gz202101@yeah.net.
The People's Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region · CN

Funding

the Science and Education Business of Guangzhou Health Commission 20221A011023
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAs a first-line imaging modality, whole-body fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) and 18F-FDG PET/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) had been widely applied in clinical practice. However, 18F-FDG PET/MRI may be superior to PET/CT for the diagnosis of distant metastases in patients with advanced-stage. Therefore, it is timely and important to systematically determine the diagnostic accuracy of 18F-FDG PET/MRI compared with that of 18F-FDG PET/CT for the diagnosis of distant metastases.

methodsThis study aimed to compare the diagnostic accuracy of 18F-FDG PET/CT and PET/MRI for the diagnosis of distant metastases in patients with malignant tumors. Relevant studies using both 18F-FDG PET/CT and PET/MRI for assessment of distant metastases in patients with malignant tumors were searched in PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and Scopus from January 2010 to November 2023. Two reviewers independently selected studies according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. A reviewer extracted relevant data and assessed the quality of the eligible studies. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for 18F-FDG PET/CT and PET/MRI were analyzed. Subgroup analysis was performed.

resultsAcross 14 studies (1042 patients), 18F-FDG PET/MRI had a higher sensitivity (0.87 versus 0.81), AUC value (0.98 versus 0.95), and similar specificity (0.97 versus 0.97), than PET/CT for detecting distant metastases. In 3 studies of breast cancer (182 patients), 18F-FDG PET/MRI had a higher sensitivity (0.95 versus 0.87) and specificity (0.96 versus 0.94) than PET/CT. In 5 studies of lung cancer (429 patients), 18F-FDG PET/CT had a higher sensitivity (0.87 versus 0.84) and a lower specificity (0.95 versus 0.96) to PET/MRI.

conclusions18F-FDG PET/MRI and PET/CT both performed well as detectors of distant metastases in patients with malignant tumors, and the former has higher sensitivity. The subgroup analysis highlights that 18F-FDG PET/MRI and PET/CT hold different advantages for distant metastases staging in different tumors, PET/MRI has a higher accuracy in patients with breast cancer patients, while PET/CT has a higher accuracy in patients with lung cancer.

Indexed as

Breast NeoplasmsLung NeoplasmsFemaleFluorodeoxyglucose F18HumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingNeoplasm StagingPositron-Emission TomographyPositron Emission Tomography Computed TomographyRadiopharmaceuticalsSensitivity and SpecificityFluorodeoxyglucose F18RadiopharmaceuticalsDistant metastasesPositron emission tomography/computed tomographyPositron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imagingTumor

Identifiers

PMID36624425
PMCPMC9830828
OpenAlexW4313887000

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.