The helpfulness of 18F-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET
) in restaging non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has not been extensively
evaluated. A total of 156 patients referred for restaging of NSCLC were ret
rospectively evaluated. According to the classification of American Joint C
ommittee on Cancer, stages I and II were defined as conventionally resectab
le, stage IIIA as locally advanced but resectable, stage IIIB as locally ad
vanced but unresectable, and stage IV as absolutely unresectable. Compared
to initial staging by chest computed tomographic findings, FDG-PET down-sta
ged 45/150 (29%) and upstaged 52/156 (33%) NSCLCs. In addition, 37/156 (23%
) patients were reclassified from resectable to unresectable and 22/156 (14
%) patients were reclassified from unresectable to resectable. Our results
prove the helpfulness of whole body FDG-PET for restaging NSCLC.