ABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate the predictive value of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT before or after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (Auto-HSCT) in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).Methods Fifty-eight NHL patients who underwent PET/CT scan before or after Auto-HSCT were retrospectively analyzed.Between June 2007 and May 2016,40 patients (32 males,8 females;median age 39 years) underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT pre-transplantation,and 34 patients (23 males,11 females;median age 34 years) underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT post-transplantation.There were 16 patients underwent both pre-and post-transplantation imaging.PET/CT results were categorized as positive or negative according to the standard response criteria.The predictive value of PET/CT was evaluated with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and logrank test.Three-year PFS and OS of different groups were compared with Fisher exact test.Results (1) 18 F-FDG PET/CT before Auto-HSCT:PFS of patients in PET/CT negative group (n =27) and positive group (n=13) were significantly different (x2=4.187,P<0.05),3-year PFS was 63.6%(14/22) vs 1/7 (P=0.031).However,OS of the 2 groups were not significantly different (x2=1.777,P>0.05).(2)18F-FDG PET/CT after Auto-HSCT:PFS and OS of patients in PET/CT negative group (n=18) and positive group (n =16) were significantly different (x2 values:15.430,7.726,both P<0.01).The 3-year PFS and OS of the 2 groups were 8/10 vs 2/12(P=0.005) and 8/10 vs 4/12 (P=0.038),respectively.Conclusion 18F-FDG PET/CT before or after Auto-HSCT could provide prognostic information for NHL patients.