title: 18F-FDG PET/CT has a high impact on patient management and provides powerful prognostic stratification in the primary staging of esophageal cancer: a prospective study with mature survival data.
abstract: The aim of this study is to evaluate the incremental staging information, management impact, and prognostic stratification of PET/CT in the primary staging of esophageal cancer in a cohort of patients with mature survival data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between July 2002 and June 2005, 139 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed esophageal cancer underwent conventional staging investigations (CSI), followed by PET/CT. Disease stage was classified according to the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system (6th edition) and grouped as stage I-IIA, stage IIB-III, and stage IV reflecting broad groupings that determine therapeutic choice. Validation of results was performed when PET/CT and CSI stage groups were discordant and in those patients where PET/CT changed management. Management impact was determined by comparing prospectively recorded pre-PET/CT management plans with post-PET/CT management plans. Survival after follow-up of at least 5 y in patients was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier product limit method and the Cox proportional hazards regression model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  PET/CT changed the stage group in 56 of 139 (40%) patients and changed management in 47 of 139 (34%) patients. In 22 patients, therapy was changed from curative to palliative and in 3 from palliative to curative; in 11, treatment modality was changed without a change in treatment intent, and in 11 the delivery of therapy or diagnostic procedure was changed. Of the 47 patients with management change, imaging results could be validated in 31 patients, and PET/CT correctly changed management in 26 (84%) of these. Of the remaining 5 patients, CSI stage was also incorrect in 4 and correct in 1. Median survival was 23 mo. PET/CT stages I-IIA, IIB-III, and IV had a 5-y survival of 40%, 38%, and 6%, respectively. Post-PET/CT stage group and treatment intent were both strongly associated with survival (P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PET/CT provides incremental staging information compared with CSI, changes management in one third of patients, and has powerful prognostic stratification in the primary staging of esophageal cancer.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cancer Imaging, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. tomwbarber@gmail.com
authors.forename: Thomas W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Barber
authors.forename: Cuong P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Duong
authors.forename: Trevor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Leong
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bressel
authors.forename: Elizabeth G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Drummond
authors.forename: Rodney J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Hicks
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064847:Multimodal Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18