Our objective was to prospectively explore the diagnostic value of 18 F-FDG PET/CT for preoperative staging in endometrial carcinomas and to investigate whether 18 F-FDG PET-specific quantitative tumor parameters reflect clinical and histologic characteristics. Methods: Preoperative 18 F-FDG PET/CT was prospectively performed on 129 consecutive endometrial carcinoma patients. Two physicians who did not know the clinical findings or staging results independently reviewed the images, assessing primary tumor, cervical stroma involvement and metastatic spread, and determining maximum and mean standardized uptake value (SUV max and SUV mean , respectively) for tumor, metabolic tumor volume (MTV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG). All parameters were analyzed in relation to histomorphologic and clinical tumor characteristics. Receiver-operatingcharacteristic curves for identification of deep myometrial invasion and lymph node metastases were generated, and MTV cutoffs for predicting deep myometrial invasion and lymph node metastases were calculated. Results: The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 18 F-FDG PET/CT for the detection of lymph node metastases were 77%-85%, 91%-96%, and 89%-93%, respectively. SUV max , SUV mean , MTV, and TLG were significantly related to deep myometrial invasion, presence of lymph node metastases, and high histologic grade (P , 0.015 for all) and independently predicted deep myometrial invasion (P , 0.015) and lymph node metastases (P , 0.025) after adjustment for preoperative histologic risk (based on subtype and grade) in endometrial biopsies. Optimal cutoffs for MTV in predicting deep myometrial invasion (20 mL) and the presence of lymph node metastases (30 mL) yielded odds ratios of 7.8 (P , 0.001) and 16.5 (P 5 0.001), respectively. Conclusion: 18 F-FDG PET/CT represents a clinically valuable tool for preoperatively evaluating the presence of lymph node metastases in endometrial carcinoma patients. Applying MTV cutoffs for the prediction of deep myometrial invasion and lymph node metastases may increase diagnostic accuracy and aid preoperative identification of high-risk patients, enabling restriction of lymphadenectomy for patients with a low risk of aggressive disease.

MRI is an important tool for preoperative endometrial cancer staging. • Staging agreement based on pelvic MRI was modest among different observers. • Preoperative MRI alone was suboptimal in identifying high-risk patients. • Improved imaging and biomarkers may refine preoperative risk stratification in endometrial cancer.

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• Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) offers new information about endometrial carcinoma. • Pelvic DCE-MRI with subsequent quantitative modelling seems feasible in endometrial carcinoma patients. • Low tumour perfusion is a feature of a more aggressive tumour subtype. • DCE-MRI provides potential biomarkers for preoperative risk stratification in endometrial carcinoma patients.