Impact of FDG-PET on prediction of clinical outcome after concurrent chemoradiotherapy in hypopharyngeal carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate prognostic value of pretreatment and posttreatment 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in advanced hypopharyngeal carcinoma treated by chemoradiotherapy.


METHODS
Thirty-one patients underwent a baseline FDG-PET and then FDG-PET was repeated 7 weeks after chemoradiotherapy. Primary tumor uptake of FDG, measured as the maximal standardized uptake value (SUV(max)), was analyzed in relation to local control and survival.


RESULTS
Neither local control nor cause-specific survival were associated with pretreatment SUV(max). In contrast, patients with a high posttreatment SUV(max) had significantly poorer local control (P = 0.002), as well as poorer cause-specific survival (P = 0.0075), compared to those with a low posttreatment SUV(max). This prognostic significance of posttreatment SUV(max) remained when only a subset of patients showing local complete response to chemoradiotherapy was analyzed.


CONCLUSIONS
Posttreatment FDG uptake represents an independent prognostic factor for hypopharyngeal carcinoma treated by chemoradiotherapy. Patients with a high posttreatment FDG uptake may benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy.
Department of Otolaryngology, Osaka University School of Medicine, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan. hinohara@ent.med.osaka-u.ac.jp
Hidenori
H
Inohara
Keisuke
K
Enomoto
Yoichiro
Y
Tomiyama
Ichiro
I
Higuchi
Takehiro
T
Inoue
Jun
J
Hatazawa
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D007012:Hypopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D011379:Prognosis; D012372:ROC Curve; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18