Role of 18f-Fdg Pet/Ct in the Postoperative Follow-Up in Patients with Stage I-Iii Nsclc: A Retrospective Single-Institution Study

•In this real-world analysis of 205 patients with resected stage I-III NSCLC rate for recurrence and secondary primary lung cancer was 22 % and 8 %, respectively.•83 % of recurrences, and 65 % of SPLC were detected on FDG-PET/CT that was done after 6, 12 and 24 months after resection.•In this patient cohort second curatively intended treatment was possible in 37% of pts with recurrence and 100% with SPLC.•Recurrence was identified in more than 80% of all cases in one of the three FDG-PET/CTs during the first two years after resection.•A postoperative surveillance strategy with regular FDG-PET/CT scans is able to identify curatively treatable recurrences with high percentage.