Abstract:Objective To investigate the application value of fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose （18F-FDG）- positron emission tomography （PET） in patients with esophageal cancer. Methods From October 1999 to December 2005, 52 patients with esophageal cancer （15 untreated and 37 treated patients） were imaged with 18F-FDG-PET.18F-FDG-PET scans were analyzed by visual method combined with semiquantitative analysis. 18F-FDG- PET results were compared with pathological results and follow-up survey. Results There were 15 untreated patients before 18F-FDG-PET scans, the primary tumors in 11 patients （T2 to T4 stage） were all 18F-FDG avid and primary site in 4 patients （T1 stage） showed nothing abnormal. The sensitivity of 18F-FDG-PET was 73.3% （11/ 15）. In diagnosing 16 resected enlarged lymph nodes beyond 1 cm in 8 operated patients. Six lymph nodes was malignant by 18F-FDG-PET scans before operation, there were 5 metastases lymph nodes and 1 tuberculosis nodes. 18F-FDG-PETrevealed distant metastases in 7 patients and corrected them from surgery candidates to late stage. In 37 treated patients 18F-FDG-PET confirmed 34 patients with recurrence and/or metastasis. Conclusion ^18F-FDG-PET has limited value in comfirming T and N stage in esophageal cancer. It shows much value in M stage and treatment guiding in patients with esophageal cancer.