[18F-Deoxyglucose PET for the staging of oesophageal cancer: influence of histopathological subtype and tumour grading].
OBJECTIVE
Evaluation of the influence of histopathologic sub-types and grading of primaries of oesophageal cancer, relative to their size and location, on the uptake of (18)F-deoxyglucose (FDG) as measured by positron emission tomography (PET).


METHODS
50 consecutive patients were evaluated. There were four drop-outs due to previous surgical and/or chemotherapeutical treatments and thus in 46 patients (28 squamous cell carcinomas and 18 adenocarcinomas) a pretherapeutic PET evaluation of the primary including a standard uptake value (SUV) was obtained. In 42 cases data on tumour grading were available also.


RESULTS
Squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) were in 7/13/8 cases located in the proximal, medial and distal part of the oesophagus, respectively the grading was Gx in 3, G 2 in 12, G2-3 in 7, and G3 in 6 cases. The SUV(max) showed a mean of 6.5+/-2.8 (range 1.7-13.5). Adenocarcinomas (ACA) were located in the medial oesophagus in two cases and otherwise in its distal parts. Grading was Gx in one, G2 in 4, G2-3 in 3, G3 in 3, G3-4 in 3, and G4 in one case. The mean SUV(max) was 5.2+/-3.2 (range 1-13.6) and this was not significantly different from the SCC. Concerning the tumour grading there was a slight, statistically not relevant trend towards higher SUV(max) in more dedifferentiated cancer.


CONCLUSIONS
SCC and ACA of the oesophagus show no relevant differences in the FDG-uptake. While there was a significant variability of tumour uptake in the overall study group, a correlation of SUV and tumour grading was not found.
Menzel
Ch
Ch
Klinik für Nuklearmedizin, Zentrum der Radiologie, Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität Frankfurt, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590 Frankfurt am Main. christian.menzel@em.uni-frankfurt.de
Döbert
N
N
Rieker
O
O
Kneist
W
W
Mose
St
S
Teising
A
A
Junginger
Th
T
Böttcher
H D
HD
Bartenstein
P
P
Grünwald
F
F
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001706:Biopsy; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed / Q000379:methods*
D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18