J Clin Oncol 2002 Mar 1;20(5):1398-404
Standardized uptake value of 2-[(18)f] fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose in predicting
outcome in head and neck carcinomas treated by radiotherapy with or without
chemotherapy.
Allal AS, Dulguerov P, Allaoua M, Haenggeli CA, El Ghazi el A, Lehmann W,
Slosman DO.
PURPOSE: In patients with head and neck cancer enrolled onto a prospective study
of positron emission tomography (PET), pretreatment 2-[(18)F] fluoro-2- deoxy-D-glucose
(FDG) uptake was evaluated as a predictor of local control and disease-free
survival (DFS) after treatment by radiotherapy (RT) with or without
chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied 63 patients with carcinomas of
the head and neck who had an FDG-PET scan before radical RT. Tumor FDG uptake
was measured with the semiquantitative standardized uptake value (SUV). All
patients but one were treated with accelerated or hyperfractionated RT
schedules. Thirteen patients received concomitant cisplatin-based chemotherapy.
RESULTS: In 25 patients who presented with any component of treatment failure,
the SUV was significantly higher than in the remaining patients without any such
failure. Patients having tumors with high FDG uptake had a significantly lower
3-year local control (55% v 86%, P =.01) and DFS (42% v 79%, P =.005) compared
with patients having low uptake tumors. In the multivariate analysis, the only
factor that retained its significance for DFS was SUV category, whereas T
category was of borderline significance. For local control, T category remained
a significant factor, whereas a lower local control was observed for tumors with
a high SUV compared with those with low SUV. CONCLUSION: FDG uptake, as measured
by the SUV, has potential value in predicting local control and DFS in head and
neck carcinomas treated by RT. High FDG uptake may be a useful parameter for
identifying patients requiring more aggressive treatment approaches.
