title: Prognostic value of volume-based positron emission tomography/computed tomography in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of volume-based metabolic parameters measured by (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography ((18)F-FDG PET) in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-four NPC patients who underwent (18)F-FDG PET/CT for initial staging work-up before concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) were retrospectively evaluated. Maximum standardized uptake value (SUV), mean SUV, metabolic tumor volume (MTV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) of the primary tumors were measured. The prognostic significance and predictive performance of these parameters were assessed by Cox proportional hazards regression analysis and time-dependent receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Multivariate analysis showed that American Joint Committee on Cancer stage 7th edition (hazard ratio [HR], 1.525; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.062 to 2.188; P=0.022), and TLG (HR, 7.799; 95% CI, 2.622 to 23.198; P≤0.001) were independent predictive factors associated with decreased disease-free survival (DFS). Time-dependent ROC curve analysis indicated that TLG was a better predictor of DFS than MTV (P=0.008).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The TLG of the primary tumor was a significant independent metabolic prognostic factor of DFS in patients with NPC treated with CCRT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Seung Hwan
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Joon Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hwan Joo
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Ik
authors.initials: YI
authors.lastname: Son
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Chung-Hwan
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Baek
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Yong Chan
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Myung-Ju
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Keunchil
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Byung-Tae
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Kim
keywords: Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma; Positron-Emission Tomography; Prognosis; Tumor Burden