SUV on dual-phase FDG PET/CT correlates with the Ki-67 proliferation index in patients with newly diagnosed non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
OBJECTIVE
PET using 18F-FDG integrated with CT is beneficial for staging patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The Ki-67 index is used to assess the proliferation potential of tumor cells. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation of the Ki-67 index in tissue samples with the SUV at different sites on dual-phase FDG PET/CT of patients with newly diagnosed NHL.


METHODS
From September 2009 to March 2011, patients with newly diagnosed NHL who had received dual-phase FDG PET/CT for staging and biopsy samples that were evaluated for the Ki-67 expression were enrolled. The SUVmax of the biopsy site, the tumorous lesion sites, and 3 different bone marrow sites (right iliac crest, sternum, and L1) were measured. The SUVmean of the liver and spleen were also measured.


RESULTS
There were a total of 27 patients in this study. Significant correlations were observed between the Ki-67 index and the SUVmax of the right iliac crest in patients with early-stage disease (stage I and II) patients, the SUVmax of the biopsy and whole-body lesion sites in patients with late-stage disease (stage III and IV), and the retention index of SUVmax of the right iliac crest in patients whose bone marrow were involved by lymphoma cells.


CONCLUSIONS
For patients with newly diagnosed NHL, the significant correlation between the Ki-67 index and the SUV in this study suggests that dual-phase FDG PET/CT may be used as a noninvasive measurement of tumor proliferation.
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Chin-Chuan
CC
Chang
Shih-Feng
SF
Cho
Yu-Wen
YW
Chen
Hung-Pin
HP
Tu
Chia-Yang
CY
Lin
Chao-Sung
CS
Chang
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D006801:Humans; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism*; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064847:Multimodal Imaging; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18