Positron emission tomography at the end of first-line therapy and during follow-up in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma: a retrospective study.
BACKGROUND
Routine positron emission tomography (PET) in follow-up of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) after treatment is still controversial. The aim of this retrospective study was to analyze the clinical impact of routine PET examination during the follow-up for relapse detection in PET-negative HL patients at the end of therapy.


METHODS
PET scans were carried out in 113 HL patients at the end of therapy and during the follow-up either in regular intervals or in a suspected relapse. Median follow-up of the group was 34 months.


RESULTS
Overall 327 PET scans were evaluated in 113 patients (median three PET scans per patient). At the end of therapy, 94 (83.2%) patients were PET negative and 19 (16.8%) PET positive. Regular follow-up PET scans in 67 of 94 PET-negative patients correctly identified tumor in 6 of 155 PET scans (3.9%). In 27 of 94 patients with clinically suspected relapse, 5 of 27 PET scans (18.5%) confirmed tumor.


CONCLUSIONS
Our analysis showed that there is no need for regular follow-up with PET scans in PET-negative patients at the end of therapy: the ratio of true-positive PET scans during the follow-up is low (3.9%). Positive PET at the end of therapy and during follow-up should be evaluated with caution.
Mocikova
H
H
First Department of Medicine-Department of Haematology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and General University Hospital in Prague, Czech Republic. Electronic address: heidi.mocikova@seznam.cz.
Obrtlikova
P
P
First Department of Medicine-Department of Haematology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and General University Hospital in Prague, Czech Republic.
Vackova
B
B
First Department of Medicine-Department of Haematology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and General University Hospital in Prague, Czech Republic.
Trneny
M
M
First Department of Medicine-Department of Haematology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and General University Hospital in Prague, Czech Republic.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult