PET-CT's diagnostic accuracy plummets in region endemic for granulomatous disease (southeast U.S.)

Deppen et al report that PET-CT's specificity for lung cancer was only 40% among 211 patients undergoing resection for presumed lung cancer at Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN, an area endemic for histoplasmosis. Twenty-two of 43 benign nodules were granulomas; most were positive on PET-CT (~60%). Ann Thorac Surg 2011;92:428-433.