Positron emission tomography with [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose improves staging and patient management in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a multicenter prospective study.
PURPOSE To address the impact of positron emission tomography with [(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose (PET-FDG) on the initial staging and management of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). PATIENTS AND METHODS This multicenter, prospective study included 233 patients with newly diagnosed and untreated HNSCC. TNM stage and therapeutic decision were first determined based on the conventional work-up (including physical examination, computed tomography [CT]/magnetic resonance imaging of the head and neck region, and thoracic CT) and sealed in envelope 1. Whole-body PET-FDG was then performed, and subsequent TNM stage and therapeutic decision were written in envelope 2. Changes in TNM stages and in patient management as a result of PET-FDG imaging were recorded. Clinical outcome and histopathology were used as gold standards to validate the TNM stage. Conventional and PET stages were compared using the McNemar test. Results Conventional and PET stage were discordant in 100 (43%) of 233 patients. PET proved to be accurate in 47 patients and inaccurate in 13 patients. TNM status was left unconfirmed in 40 patients because no therapeutic change was expected from the stage difference. Conventional + PET TNM classification (envelope 2) was significantly more accurate than conventional classification (envelope 1; P < .0001, McNemar test). PET-FDG altered the therapeutic plan in 32 (13.7%) of 233 patients. CONCLUSION Adding whole-body PET-FDG to the pretherapeutic conventional staging of HNSCC improved the TNM classification of the disease and altered the management of 13.7% of patients. These findings support the implementation of PET-FDG in the routine imaging work-up of HNSCC.
Lonneux
Max
M
Nuclear Medicine Department, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Avenue Hippocrate, 10, B-1200 Brussels, Belgium; max.lonneux@uclouvain.be.
Hamoir
Marc
M
Reychler
Hervé
H
Maingon
Philippe
P
Duvillard
Christian
C
Calais
Gilles
G
Bridji
Boumédiène
B
Digue
Laurence
L
Toubeau
Michel
M
Grégoire
Vincent
V
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D011446:Prospective Studies; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals
D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18