Diagnosis and staging of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is critical because of the variety of treatment methods and prognosis. [¹⁸F]fludeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography ([¹⁸F]FDG-PET/CT) has been suggested as a diagnostic modality in HCC. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of FDG-PET for staging of HCC after surgical resection and histological confirmation.

We retrospectively collected data of 56 patients that underwent FDG-PET before surgical resection for HCC March 2011–May 2017, all of whom were suitable for resection by conventional HCC staging. Results of the maximal standardized uptake value (SUVmax) were compared with histological confirmation.

A larger tumor size was related with higher SUVmax (≥4.9). The serum alpha-feto protein was associated with SUVmax. Recurrence rate was higher in patients with higher SUVmax and patients with lower SUVmax had a better survival rate.

The SUVmax correlates well with tumor size and factors associated with biological behavior of HCC such as alpha-feto protein, and it could be a beneficial modality in providing prognostic information for HCC.