The analysis of the change characteristics of PET/CT metabolic parameters before and after liver transplantation for liver cancer / 中华器官移植杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between the changes of pre- and post-operation PET/CT metabolic parameters and prognosis for liver cancer patients.Methods:A retrospective study was carried out among 92 patients with liver cancer who received liver transplantation and PET/CT examination in our hospital from October 2013 to May 2017.According to Deauville criteria, the lesions were classified into PET negative, weak positive, and strong positive. The metabolic parameters including SUV max, SUL, MTV, TMR, TLR, TLG, UVP of normal liver parenchyma, liver cancer lesions and mediastinum were measured or calculated. The relationship between metabolic parameters and recurrence was analyzed. The relationship of Deauville score and metabolic parameters and the changing characters of metabolic parameters between the PET/CT of pre and post transplantation were analyzed. Results:Thirty cases did not relapse after LT, among which 16, 7 and 7 cases had Deauville score of 3, 4 and 5 respectively in pre-operation PET/CT. The recurrence time of 62 patients in recurrence group was (10.90±10.30) months. MTV, TLG, UVP-M, UVP-LB in recurrence group were significant higher( P<0.05). Patients with low metabolic parameters show better prognosis than patients with high metabolic parameters. Metabolic parameters of 5 score group were higher than that of 4score. The metabolic parameters of recurrence group were higher than those in non-recurrence group. MTV, TLG, UVP-M, UVP-LB in post-operation PET/CT were lower than those in pre-operation PET/CT, however, SUV max, TMR, TLR, SUL had no significantly difference. Conclusions:PET/CT metabolic burden parameters should be evaluated before LT to select patients with better prognosis. For liver transplantation patients with high metabolic parameters, PET/CT examination should be performed early after surgery to improve the detection of recurrence and metastasis, and relevant treatment should be timely conducted.