title: Primary tumor standardized uptake value predicts survival in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this study was to determine whether the pretreatment primary tumor standardized uptake value (SUV), as measured by positron emission tomography (PET), can add prognostic information for predicting survival in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
  
  
  METHODS
  7 articles were identified by searching electronic databases. Statistical analysis was performed with RevMan 4.2.2. SUV measurement and SUV threshold for defining high SUV were studied dependently. For each publication, we first obtained an estimate of the relative risk (RR) for comparing patients with a low or a high SUV. Subsequently, we aggregated the individual RRs into a combined RR, using a fixed-effect model. Publication bias was assessed using a funnel plot.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study included 7 clinical trials dedicated to HNSCC, involving 674 patients who underwent fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose-PET scanning before treatment. The combined RR from the 7 reports for the survival was 0.53 (95% confidence interval: 0.46-0.62). The funnel plot showed symmetrical distribution, indicating no evidence of any substantial publication bias.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our meta-analysis indicates that patients with HNSCC who have a primary tumor with a high SUV have poor survival; this should be further confirmed in a meta-analysis based on individual patient data.
authors: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Shanghai First People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
authors: Baitao
authors: B
authors: Zhang
authors: Jiangqiao
authors: J
authors: Geng
authors: Fang
authors: F
authors: Nie
authors: Xiaoming
authors: X
authors: Li
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality*; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality*; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D015994:Incidence; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D000077195:Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18