High Performance of <sup>18</sup>F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography and Contrast-Enhanced CT in a Rapid Outpatient Diagnostic Program for Patients with Suspected Lung Cancer

The diagnostic evaluation of patients presenting with possible lung cancer is often complex and time consuming. A rapid outpatient diagnostic program (RODP) including (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) and contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) as a routine diagnostic tool may improve timeliness, however the diagnostic performance of such a combined approach of RODP remains unclear.

We evaluated timeliness of care and diagnostic performance of FDG-PET and contrast-enhanced CT (FDG-PET/CT) in an RODP for all patients referred with a chest X-ray suspicious of lung cancer.