Prognostic value of volumetric FDG PET/CT parameters in patients with oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma who were treated by superselective intra-arterial chemoradiotherapy.

PURPOSE

This study aimed to evaluate the predictive and prognostic value of FDG PET/CT-based volumetric parameters in patients with oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC) treated by superselective intra-arterial chemoradiotherapy (IA-CRT).

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective study including 33 patients with biopsy-proven OTSCC between May 2007 and February 2016. All of the patients were treated by IA-CRT. Pretreatment SUV and metabolic tumor volume (MTV) of the primary tumor were measured. The SUV thresholds of 2.5 and 5.0 were used. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were chosen as endpoints to evaluate prognosis. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to assess the potential independent effect of FDG PET/CT parameters.

RESULTS

The median follow-up for surviving patients was 40.7 months (range 6.0-107.5 months). In univariate and multivariate analyses, SUV and MTV (5.0) were independent prognostic factors for PFS. In univariate analysis, SUV failed to predict OS. MTV (5.0) was a significant prognostic factor for OS, but multivariate analysis failed to show statistical independence because it could not exclude the possibility of an artifact due to N stage.

CONCLUSIONS

FDG PET/CT-based volumetric parameters may be significant prognostic markers for survival of patients with OTSCC who are treated by IA-CRT.