The association between SUVmax values and histological types and dysplasia grades of incidentally detected colon polyps in PET/CT examination

The association between SUVmax values and histological types and dysplasia grades of incidentally detected colon polyps in PET/CT examination Introduction and objective: Positron emission tomography (PET) is an imaging method mainly used to differentiate benign and malignant lesions and to stage and monitor neoplasms according to their maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmax). In this study, it was aimed to investigate the relationship between SUVmax values of colorectal polyps with histological type and degree of dysplasia. Material and Method: In this study, patients with colon involvement in PET examination performed for different indications in Akdeniz University Hospital between January 2015 and December 2020 were evaluated retrospectively and 125 patients who were found to have polyps in colonoscopy and underwent polypectomy or biopsy were included in the study. The relationship between the SUVmax values determined in PET examination and the histological types of polyps and the degree of dysplasia were investigated. In the study, the statistical significance level was accepted as 0.05. Results: The mean age of the patients was 67.2 ± 11.86 / year and 90 (72%) of the patients was male. male (28%). Thirty-six (28.8%) of the polyps were tubular, 34 (27.2%) were tubulovillous, and 39 (31.2%) were villous adenomas. It was determined that there was a significant difference between the mean SUVmax values according to the polyp type, and villous adenomas had higher SUVmax values (p = 0.004). Low-grade dysplasia was observed in 35 (52%) and high-grade dysplasia was observed in 44 (35.2%) polyps. It was determined that there was a significant difference between the mean SUVmax values according to the degree of dysplasia, and lesions with high-grade dysplasia had a higher SUVmax value (p=0.002). It was also observed that the mean SUVmax value increased significantly as the lesion size increased (p=0.001). Compared to the polyps that were detected additionally during colonoscopy but did not involve on PET, these lesions were significantly smaller than those with involvement (p=0.001), had more tubular adenoma histology, and had a lower incidence of villous adenoma (p=0.001) and again, these lesions were found to have less high-grade dysplasia compared to those with involvement on PET (p=0.001). Conclusion: SUVmax values of incidentally detected colorectal polyps on PET can predict the histological type and degree of dysplasia. Villous histology and severe dysplasia are associated with higher SUVmax values. Keywords: Colorectal polyps, positron emission tomography, SUVmax, dysplasia