Prognostic aspects of 18F-FDG PET kinetics in patients with metastatic colorectal carcinoma receiving FOLFOX chemotherapy.
We evaluated quantitative measurement series (MS) with 18F-FDG and PET and compared different quantification methods for prediction of individual survival in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer receiving chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil, folinic acid, and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX).


METHODS
The study comprised 25 patients. All patients were examined before the onset of FOLFOX therapy and after completion of the first and fourth cycles. SUV, fractal dimension (FD), a 2-compartment model with computation of k1, k2, k3, and k4, and vascular fraction (VB) were used for data evaluation. Survival data served as a reference for the PET data. Discriminant analysis (DA), regression, and best-subset analysis were applied to the data.


RESULTS
Twenty of 25 patients died up to 801 d after the first PET study. A cutoff of 1 y (364 d) was used to classify the patients into 2 a priori groups, namely the short- and long-term survival groups. DA was used to predict the 2 categories using SUV and kinetic parameters of 18F-FDG metabolism as predictor variables. SUV provided a correct classification rate (CCR) ranging from 62% to 69%. SUV of the third MS resulted in a CCR of 69% as a single parameter. The best results were yielded by the use of kinetic parameters (k1, k3, VB, and FD) as predictor variables. CCR was 78% using kinetic 18F-FDG parameters of the first and third MS, in comparison with 69% for the corresponding SUVs. A multiple linear regression model was applied to the data to assess the relationship between individual survival and the PET data. The best-subset method revealed a correlation coefficient of 0.850 for the kinetic parameters of the first (k3, k4, VB, and FD) and third (k1, k2, k4, and VB) MS.


CONCLUSIONS
The combination of kinetic parameters of the first and the third MS is acceptable for classification into a short or long survival class. Furthermore, even an individual prognosis of survival can be achieved using kinetic 18F-FDG parameters of the first and third MS.
Dimitrakopoulou-Strauss
Antonia
A
Clinical Cooperation Unit Nuclear Medicine, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany. ads@ads-lgs.com
Strauss
Ludwig G
LG
Burger
Cyrill
C
Rühl
Anne
A
Irngartinger
Gisela
G
Stremmel
Wolfgang
W
Rudi
Jochen
J
D000465:Algorithms; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000556:secondary; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D007700:Kinetics; D002955:Leucovorin / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D009944:Organoplatinum Compounds; D011379:Prognosis; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D009944:Organoplatinum Compounds; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D002955:Leucovorin; D005472:Fluorouracil