Comparison of SPECT/CT Perfusion and Volumetric CT Volume to Predict Postoperative Pulmonary Function After Segmentectomy

Lung cancer has a high prevalence, incidence and mortality in France and worldwide. Surgical treatment, possible only at an early stage, improves the prognosis of patients. In addition, the increasing accessibility of chest CT scans allows early detection and monitoring of small pulmonary nodules. As a result, more conservative surgical techniques are becoming increasingly important, including segmentectomy.

Among patients for whom it is indicated, the preoperative assessment involves the evaluation of pulmonary function and the prediction of postoperative pulmonary function in order to validate the feasibility of surgery. To do this, several methods have been described: anatomical methods (segment counting), radiological imaging methods (CT, DECT, perfusion MRI), and nuclear imaging methods (planar perfusion and/or ventilation pulmonary scintigraphy, SPECT pulmonary perfusion scintigraphy), some of which are hybrid (SPECT/CT). The use of SPECT/CT to predict postoperative pulmonary function is routinely practiced, and its reliability, accuracy, and concordance with measured postoperative pulmonary function are well demonstrated for pneumectomy and lobectomy. For more conservative surgeries, the data in the literature remain uncertain. However, being able to predict pulmonary function is essential, both to justify the feasibility of the intervention, but also to target the most fragile patients and intensify their postoperative respiratory rehabilitation.