Diagnostic Accuracy of an Integrated Multimodality Imaging Approach in Patients With Cardiac Masses

BACKGROUND: F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) remains incompletely defined. OBJECTIVES: F-FDG PET, individually and in combination, for identifying malignant CMs using histology as the reference standard. METHODS: F-FDG PET within 2 months of first medical contact. Final diagnosis was established by histology or radiological resolution after anticoagulation therapy for thrombi. Diagnostic performance was assessed using receiver-operating characteristic curves, and the areas under the curve (AUCs) were compared with the DeLong test, applying Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. CART (Classification And Regression Tree) analysis assessed the incremental value of PET following CMR or CCT. RESULTS: F-FDG PET achieved an AUC of 0.92. The addition of PET after CMR or CCT was associated with improved diagnostic classification in selected cases, as supported by CART analysis. CONCLUSIONS: F-FDG PET represents a reliable alternative.