ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To evaluate the prognostic value of the metabolic tumor volume measured on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) imaging and other clinical factors in patients treated for locally advanced head-and-neck cancer (HNC) at a single institution. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between June 2005 and August 2008, 59 patients with HNC that underwent pretreatment FDG-PET studies received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Metabolically active tumor regions were delineated on the pretreatment PET scans by a fixed SUV of 2.5. We evaluated the relationship of the 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-PET maximum standardized uptake value (SUV) and the metabolic tumor volume (MTV) with the progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: The MTV and lymph node metastasis were predictive of the PFS and OS. The lymph node status did not correlate with the MTV. A higher MTV of 9.3 cm(3) was significantly associated with an increased risk of recurrence (2.19-fold, p = 0.006) and death (1.62-fold, p = 0.051). Separation of patients with tumor volumes Subject(s)
Head and Neck Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging
, Head and Neck Neoplasms/pathology
, Positron-Emission Tomography
, Aged
, Aged, 80 and over
, Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use
, Combined Modality Therapy
, Disease-Free Survival
, Female
, Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
, Head and Neck Neoplasms/therapy
, Humans
, Kaplan-Meier Estimate
, Male
, Middle Aged
, Prognosis
, Radiopharmaceuticals
, Radiotherapy
, Retrospective Studies
, Tumor Burden/drug effects
, Tumor Burden/radiation effects