Prognostic value of FDG PET-CT metabolic parameters before radiotherapy in patients with esophageal cancer receiving radiotherapy / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the prognostic value of metabolic parameters of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography(FDG PET-CT)before radiotherapy in patients with esophageal cancer receiving radiotherapy. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 37 patients with stage Ⅱ-Ⅲ esophageal squamous cell carcinoma admitted to Anhui Provincial Hospital from 2010 to 2015,who underwent PET-CT scans within 4 weeks before radiotherapy. The following information was collectedage,sex,the location of primary lesion,clinical stage,and treatment regimen.The maximum standard uptake value(SUVmax), mean standard uptake value(SUVmean), metabolic tumor volume(MTV), PET tumor length(PTL),and total lesion glycolysis(TLG)were calculated. The optimal cut-off values of SUVmax, SUVmean,MTV,PTL,and TLG were determined by the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate survival rates,and the log-rank test was used for survival comparison and univariate prognostic analysis;the Cox model was used for multivariate prognostic analysis of significant variables. Results The area under the ROC curve suggested that MTV>TLG>PTL=0.713>0.679>0.670. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that patients had better survival time when MTV was less than 27.44 cm3,TLG was less than 166.2 g,and PTL was less than 36.74 mm(P<0.05).The Cox multivariate regression analysis showed that only MTV was an independent prognostic factor for radiotherapy in patients with esophageal cancer(P=0.000). Conclusions MTV, TLG and PTL have certain values in predicting the prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer before radiotherapy, and are helpful for selecting and adjust the clinical treatment regimen and improving the survival rate and prognosis.