title: Pretreatment tumor SUVmaxpredicts disease-specific and overall survival in patients with head and neck soft tissue sarcoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Head and neck soft tissue sarcoma (HNSTS) is a rare type of tumor with various histological presentations and clinical behaviors.18F-FDG PET/CT is being increasingly used for staging, grading, and predicting treatment outcomes in various types of human cancers, although this modality has been rarely studied in the survival prediction of HNSTS. Here we examined the prognostic value of tumor metabolic parameters measured using18F-FDG PET/CT in patients with HNSTS.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study included 36 consecutive patients with HNSTS who underwent18F-FDG PET/CT scanning prior to treatment at our institution. Tumor gross total volume (GTV) was measured from pretreatment contrast-enhanced CT scans, and maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), metabolic tumor volume (MTV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) were measured using pretreatment18F-FDG PET/CT scans. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analyses were used to identify associations between imaging parameters and disease-specific survival (DSS) or overall survival (OS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Univariate analyses showed that SUVmax, MTV, and TLG, but not GTV, were significantly associated with DSS and OS (all P < 0.05). After controlling for clinicopathological factors, SUVmax, MTV, and TLG were significantly associated with DSS and OS (all P < 0.05). Patients with a tumor SUVmaxvalue of >7.0 experienced an approximately fivefold increase in mortality in terms of DSS and OS relative to those with a tumor SUVmax<7.0.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Quantitative metabolic measurements on pretreatment18F-FDG PET/CT can yield values that are significantly predictive of survival after treatment for HNSTS.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Otolaryngology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 88 Olympic-ro 43-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, 05505, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seung Cheol
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.affiliation: Departments of Nuclear Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jungsu S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.affiliation: Departments of Otolaryngology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 88 Olympic-ro 43-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, 05505, Republic of Korea. rohjl@amc.seoul.kr.
authors.forename: Jong-Lyel
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Roh
authors.affiliation: Departments of Nuclear Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyojeong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.affiliation: Departments of Nuclear Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jae Seung
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pathology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung-Ja
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Departments of Otolaryngology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 88 Olympic-ro 43-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, 05505, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seung-Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Departments of Otolaryngology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 88 Olympic-ro 43-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, 05505, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Soon Yuhl
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.affiliation: Departments of Otolaryngology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 88 Olympic-ro 43-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, 05505, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sang Yoon
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D000072078:Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
keywords: 18F-FDG PET/CT; Head and neck soft tissue sarcoma; Metabolic volume; Prognosis; Standardized uptake value