Metabolic tumor volume derived from 18F-FDG PET/CT as a prognostic parameter for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

To determine whether the prognostic stratification of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients could be made by fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT)-derived parameters such as maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), metabolic tumor volume (MTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG). A total of 106 patients who were initially diagnosed with NSCLC with clinical stage III or stage IV at our hospital from January 2015 to January 2018 were included. The metabolic and volumetric parameters of 18F-FDG PET/CT were systematically collected, and their optimal cut-off values were determined on the basis of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Kaplan-Meier methods and log-rank test were used to evaluate the relationships between 18F-FDG PET/CT-derived parameters and overall survival (OS) of NSCLC patients. The univariate and multivariate Cox analysis were conducted to identify the independent predictors of OS. The optimal cut-off value of SUVmax was 8.94 and area under the curve (AUC) for identifying patients with mortality risk was 0.618 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.490-0.745), with a sensitivity of 78.6% and specificity of 53.3%. The optimal cut-off value of MTV40 was 12.44 and the AUC value was 0.785 (95%CI: 0.676-0.893), with a sensitivity of 85.7% and specificity of 71.7%. Furthermore, the ROC curves identified 71.95 as the optimal cut-off value of TLG40, and the AUC value, sensitivity and specificity were 0.782 (95%CI: 0.681-0.883), 78.6% and 70.4%, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier curves showed that SUVmax (HR for SUVmax >8.94: 3.501, 95%CI: 1.133-10.817, P=0.029), MTV40 (HR: 6.926 for MTV40 >12.44, 95%CI: 2.244-21.378, P=0.001) and TLG40 (HR: 4.314 for TLG40 >71.95, 95%CI: 1.503-12.381, P=0.007) were significantly associated with poor OS of NSCLC patients. However, only MTV40 (HR: 4.235, 95%CI: 1.324-13.526, P=0.015) was shown to have an independent role in the multivariate Cox analysis. Metabolic tumor volume had a superiority in predicting the prognosis of NSCLC patients compared with other metabolic and volumetric parameters, suggesting that it might be a valuable prognostic marker.

Palliative treatment efficacy of glucose inhibition combined with chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer with widespread bone and brain metastases: A case report.

Otto Warburg observed in 1924 that cancer cells were dependent exclusively on glycolysis for the production of energy even in the presence of oxygen (the 'Warburg effect'). Consequently, cancer cells require ~19 times more glucose uptake to obtain equivalent amounts of energy as normal cells. The Warburg effect is the scientific basis for positron emission tomography (PET), which has markedly improved cancer detection. During chemotherapy, cancer cells may upregulate their expression of multi-drug resistance proteins and ultimately cause treatment failure. As multi-drug resistance proteins require energy to operate, the present report evaluated the potential clinical efficacy of lowering blood glucose with insulin during chemotherapy for a patient with advanced pulmonary adenocarcinoma with multiple metastases. A 64-year-old male was admitted to the Department of Medical Oncology at Changzhou Tumor Hospital (Changzhou, China) due to an irritating cough and multiple bone pain. PET/computed tomography (CT) with F-18 fluorodeoxy glucose (18F-FDG) identified multiple hypermetabolic foci in the right hilum, right upper lung, shoulder blades, thoracic vertebrae, lumbar, sacrum, bilateral iliac crest and pelvis. Additionally, magnetic resonance imaging detected multiple metastases in the brain. The patient received 56 repeat treatments with insulin to induce hypoglycemia combined with reduced doses of chemotherapy over an 8-month period. For each treatment, insulin at 0.2 U/kg body weight was injected intravenously (i.v.), and when blood glucose level reached 2.5-3.0 mmol/l, navelbine (10 mg), cisplatin (10 mg) and fluorouracil (250 mg) were injected (i.v.) over a period of ~10 min. The patient's blood glucose level was returned to normal immediately after chemotherapy with an i.v. injection of 20 ml 50% glucose solution. During the 8-month chemotherapy regimen, the patient received two PET/CT follow-ups. The results demonstrated that the levels of 18F-FDG uptake in all lesions had been reduced. In addition, the patient exhibited improved appetite and weight gain, a reduced cough, and had less pain. The levels of tumor markers, namely carcinoembryonic antigen, carcinoma antigen 15-3, CYRA21-1, neuron-specific enolase, also declined gradually. These results suggest that controlled, mild hypoglycemia may be safely combined with low dose chemotherapy to provide clinical benefit for advanced non-small cell lung cancer.