Prospective study of the effects of image acquisition and reconstruction parameters on accuracy of FDG PET/CT mediastinal nodal staging in NSCLC

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adult patients, at least 18 years of age
• Patients with NSCLC diagnosis who have been referred for a clinical FDG PET/CT staging scan as part of their standard of care
• Participants must be informed of the investigational nature of this study and provide written informed consent in accordance with institutional and federal guidelines prior to study-specific procedures.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Inability to tolerate additional imaging time in the opinion of the investigator or treating physician.
• Only individuals (aged 18 or over) who can understand and give informed consent will be eligible to participate in this study. Individuals who are considered to be mentally disabled will not be recruited for this study. All subjects must be able to give informed consent. We will not be using specific methods to assess decisional capacity. Economically disadvantaged persons will not be vulnerable to undue influence, as this study offers no compensation and there is no additional cost associated with the additional study imaging time. All individuals will be told that their choice regarding study participation will in no way change their access to clinical care or their ability to undergo the standard clinical FDG PET/CT scan. This should negate any undue influence or coercion. Children, fetuses, neonates, or prisoners are not included in this research study