Use of18F-FDG PET/CT as a predictive biomarker of outcome in patients with head-and-neck non-squamous cell carcinoma

Heather M. Imsande, Jessica M. Davison, Minh T. Truong, Anand K. Devaiah, Gustavo A. Mercier, Al J. Ozonoff, Rathan M. Subramaniam

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

41 Scopus citations

Abstract

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this article is to establish whether pretreatment 18F-FDG uptake predicts disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival in patients with head-and-neck non-squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS. Eighteen patients (six women and 12 men; mean [± SD] age at diagnosis, 57.89 ± 13.54 years) with head-and-neck non-SCC were included. Tumor FDG uptake was measured by the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) and was corrected for background liver FDG uptake to derive the corrected SUVmax. Receiver operating characteristic analyses were used to predict the optimal corrected SUVmax cutoffs for respective outcomes of DFS (i.e., absence of recurrence) and death. RESULTS. The mean corrected SUVmax of the 18 head-and-neck tumors was 5.63 ± 3.94 (range, 1.14-14.29). The optimal corrected SUVmax cutoff for predicting DFS and overall survival was 5.79. DFS and overall survival were significantly higher among patients with corrected SUV max < 6 than among patients with corrected SUVmax ≥ 6. The mean DFS for patients with corrected SUVmax < 6 was 25.7 ± 11.14 months, and the mean DFS for patients with corrected SUV max ≥ 6 was 7.88 ± 7.1 months (p < 0.018). Among patients with corrected SUVmax < 6, none died, and the mean length of follow-up for this group was 35.2 ± 9.96 months. All of the patients who died had corrected SUVmax ≥ 6, and the overall survival for this group was 13.28 ±12.89 months (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION. FDG uptake, as measured by corrected SUVmax, may be a predictive imaging biomarker for DFS and overall survival in patients with head-and-neck non-SCC.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)976-980
Number of pages5
JournalAmerican Journal of Roentgenology
Volume197
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1 2011

Keywords

  • Disease-free survival
  • F-FDG PET/CT
  • Head and neck
  • Non-squamous cell carcinoma
  • Overall survival

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging

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