18F-FDG uptake in the stomach on screening PET/CT: value for predicting Helicobacter pylori infection and chronic atrophic gastritis

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to determine the value of 18F-FDG uptake on screening PET/CT images for the prediction of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and chronic atrophic gastritis. METHODS Among subjects who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT for cancer screening from April 2005 to November 2015, PET/CT images were analyzed in 88 subjects who had gastrointestinal fiberscopy within 6 months. The volumes of interest (VOIs) were placed in the fornix, corpus and antrum of the stomach to determine maximal standardized uptake value (SUVmax) and mean SUV (SUVmean). Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was performed to determine the diagnostic performance of SUV indicators in predicting H. pylori infection and chronic atrophic gastritis. RESULTS SUV indicators of the stomach were significantly higher in subjects with H. pylori infection than those without (from P < 0.001 to P < 0.05). ROC analysis revealed that SUVmean had the highest performance in predicting H. pylori infection (AUC 0.807) and chronic atrophic gastritis (AUC 0.784). SUVmean exhibited the sensitivity of 86.5 % and the specificity of 70.6 % in predicting H. pylori infection, and the sensitivity of 75.0 % and 78.6 % in predicting chronic atrophic gastritis. CONCLUSION Assessment of 18F-FDG uptake in the stomach reflecting active inflammation is useful in predicting patients with H. pylori infection and subsequent chronic atrophic gastritis which is closely associated with the risk of gastric neoplasms.