Imaging of adrenal tumors using FDG PET: comparison of benign and malignant lesions.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to differentiate benign from malignant adrenal tumors using positron emission tomography (PET) with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) in patients with unilateral adrenal masses originally detected by CT or MR imaging.

CONCLUSION: PET imaging with FDG can metabolically characterize adrenal masses. Abnormally increased FDG uptake in adrenal malignancies allows one to differentiate these abnormalities from benign lesions. Whole-body PET can also reveal extraadrenal tumor sites in patients with malignant tumors, using a single imaging technique for accurate disease staging.