title: Prognostic value of 18F-fludeoxyglucose uptake in 287 patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The prognostic value of 18F-Fludeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake could be due to its association with already known clinical risk factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Correlation between FDG uptake metrics and other known risk factors from 287 patients were analyzed. Time to any failure was analyzed using Cox proportional hazards model stratified by tumor subsite. The resulting multivariate prognostic model was used to generate a table of 2-year freedom from failure estimates with confidence intervals (CIs).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Increasing values of standardized uptake value maximum (SUVmax) correlated with other known risk factors. The reduced Cox model included SUVmax (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.34), cisplatin (HR = 0.37), smoking status (HR = 1.49), and gross target volume (GTV; HR = 1.74) as significant prognostic factors. Including SUVmax in the model changed the 2-year failure estimate by more than 10% for a quarter of the patients (23%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FDG uptake retains statistical significance in a multivariate analysis and has clinically relevant prognostic impact. We developed a prognostic model for risk stratification of patients in a clinical setting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Section of Radiotherapy, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jacob H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Section of Radiotherapy, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Ivan R
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Vogelius
authors.affiliation: PET and Cyclotron Unit, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Barbara M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Section of Radiotherapy, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jeppe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Friborg
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Section of Radiotherapy, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Marianne C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Aznar
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Section of Radiotherapy, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Gitte F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Persson
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Section of Radiotherapy, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Håkansson
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Section of Radiotherapy, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Claus A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Kristensen
authors.affiliation: Division of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center, and Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors.forename: Søren M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Bentzen
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Section of Radiotherapy, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Specht
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000532:radiotherapy; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003718:Denmark; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000532:radiotherapy; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D050397:Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated / Q000379:methods; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
keywords: 18F-Fludeoxyglucose; Cox model; prognostic value; radiotherapy; squamous cell carcinoma