Staging with PET-CT in Patients with Locally Advanced Non Small Cell Lung Cancer is Superior to Conventional Staging Methods in Terms of Survival

Background: Of patients with non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), around one third are locally advancedat the time of diagnosis. Because only a proprotion of stage III patients can be cured by surgery, in order toimprove the outcomes , sequential or concurrent chemoradiation, or concurrent chemoradiation with induction orconsolidation is offered to the patients with locally advanced NSCLC. Today, PET combined with computerizedtomography (PET-CT) is accepted as the most sensitive technique for detecting mediastinal lymph node andextracranial metastases from NSCLC. We aimed to compare PET-CT and conventional staging proceduresfor decisions regarding curative treatment of locally advanced NSCLC. Materials and
Methods: A total of 168consecutive patients were included from Acibadem Kayseri Hospital, Acibadem Adana Hospital and KayseriResearch and Training Hospital in this study.
Results: While the median PFS was 13.0±1.9 months in the PET-CTgroup, it was only 6.0±0.9 in the others (p<0.001). The median OS values were 20.5±15.6 and 11.5±1.5 months,respectively (p<0.001). Discussion: As a result, we found that staging with PET CT has better results in termsof survival staging. This superiority leads to survival advantage in patients with locally advanced NSCLC.