Two ordinal scales with definitions for reporting fluorodeoxyglucose uptake
| Scale | Vansteenkiste et al145 | Fletcher et al135 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Absent | Benign—no uptake, same as reference lung tissue (SUV 0.6–0.8) |
| 2 | Less than mediastinal blood pool (MBP) | Probably benign—uptake greater than reference lung tissue but less than MBP (SUV greater than 0.6–0.8 but less than 1.5–2.0) |
| 3 | Comparable with MBP | Indeterminate—2–3 times greater than reference lung but less than MBP (SUV 1.5–2.0 but less than 2.5) |
| 4 | Greater than MBP | Probably malignant—greater than MBP (where MBP corresponds to 2.5) |
| 5 | Much greater than MBP | Definitely malignant—much greater than MBP (substantially greater than 2.5) |
SUV, standardised uptake value.