Patterns of failure and prognostic factor analyses in locally advanced cervical cancer patients staged by positron emission tomography and treated with curative intent.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this retrospective analysis was to assess whether parameters derived from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) provide incremental prognostic value compared with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage in cervix cancer patients treated with curative intent using concurrent chemoradiotherapy.


METHODS
This was a retrospective study of patients with locoregionally advanced cervical cancer staged by examination under anesthesia and pretreatment MRI and PET. Potential prognostic factors examined were derived from either clinical evaluation (age, FIGO stage, clinical diameter, histology), MRI (corpus invasion, tumor volume), or PET (lymph node metastasis). Outcome measures examined were overall survival, relapse-free survival, time to failure, local failure, nodal failure, and distant failure.


RESULTS
There were 206 eligible patients. The mean potential follow-up was 4.4 years. At 5 years, for all patients, overall survival rate was 59%. For all outcome measures apart from local failure, for which adenocarcinoma histology was the most powerful adverse prognostic factor (HR, 4.29; P < 0.0001), lymph node status on PET was the dominant unifactor and multifactor prognostic factor. Corpus involvement on MRI was significantly associated with nodal involvement on PET but of MRI-derived parameters only tumor volume has prognostic value, limited to time to failure and nodal failure.


CONCLUSIONS
Nodal status on PET was the major predictor of outcome in locally advanced cervix cancer treated with chemoradiation and was superior to FIGO staging. Tumor volume measured from MRI appears to be an important predictor of loco-regional relapse.
Narayan
Kailash
K
Division of Radiation Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia.
Fisher
Richard J
RJ
Bernshaw
David
D
Shakher
Ramdave
R
Hicks
Rodney J
RJ
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000175:diagnosis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D017211:Treatment Failure; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D055815:Young Adult