Diagnostic Performance of F-18 Fluorocholine PET/CT for Parathyroid Localization in Hyperparathyroidism: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the diagnostic performance of F-18 Fluorocholine (FCH) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) for localization of hyperfunctioning parathyroid gland in patients with hyperparathyroidism (HPT) through a systematic review and meta-analysis. The MEDLINE/PubMed and EMBASE database, from the earliest available date of indexing through April 30, 2018, were searched for studies evaluating the diagnostic performance of F-18 FCH PET/CT for localization of hyperfunctioning parathyroid gland in patients with HPT. We determined the sensitivities and specificities across studies, calculated positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR+ and LR-), and constructed summary receiver operating characteristic curves. Across eight studies (272 patients), the pooled sensitivity for F-18 FCH PET/CT was 0.90 (95% CI, 0.86-0.94) without heterogeneity (I2  = 7.1) and a pooled specificity of 0.94 (95% CI, 0.90-0.96) with heterogeneity (I2  = 79.8). Likelihood ratio (LR) syntheses gave an overall positive likelihood ratio (LR+) of 5.3 (95% CI, 1.2-24.3) and negative likelihood ratio (LR-) of 0.15 (95% CI, 0.08-0.29). The pooled diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) was 38 (95% CI, 8-174). Hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve indicates that the areas under the curve were 0.9492 (SE, 0.0215). In meta-regression analysis, no definite variable was the source of the study heterogeneity. The current meta-analysis showed the high sensitivity and specificity of F-18 FCH PET/CT for localization of hyperfunctioning parathyroid gland. At present, the literature regarding the use of F-18 FCH PET/CT for localization of hyperfunctioning parathyroid gland remains still limited; thus, further large multicenter studies would be necessary to substantiate the diagnostic accuracy of F-18 FCH PET/for localization of hyperfunctioning parathyroid gland in patients with HPT.