Test Performance of Positron Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography for Mediastinal Staging in Patients with Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer

PURPOSE: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of computed tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography (PET) with 18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) for mediastinal staging in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer and to determine whether test results are conditionally dependent (the sensitivity and specificity of FDG-PET depend on the presence or absence of enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes on CT). DATA SOURCES: Computerized search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIOSIS, and CancerLit through March 2003 and reference lists of retrieved studies and review articles. STUDY SELECTION: Studies in any language that examined FDG-PET for mediastinal staging in patients with known or suspected non-small-cell lung cancer, enrolled at…