F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography for Evaluating the Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Advanced Esophageal Cancer

• Published in: Anticancer research 2016-01, Vol.36 (1), p.367-373
• Main Authors: Tani, Yukiko, Nakajima, Masanobu, Kikuchi, Maiko, Ihara, Keisuke, Muroi, Hiroto, Takahashi, Masakazu, Domeki, Yasushi, Okamoto, Kentaro, Yamaguchi, Satoru, Sasaki, Kinro, Tsuchioka, Takashi, Sakamoto, Setsu, Kato, Hiroyuki
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Esophageal Neoplasms - drug therapy; Esophageal Neoplasms - pathology; Esophageal Neoplasms - radiotherapy; Female; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 - therapeutic use; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Neoadjuvant Therapy - methods; Neoplasm Staging; Positron-Emission Tomography - methods; Prognosis; Treatment Outcome
• ISSN: 1791-7530

The purpose of the present study was to improve the diagnostic precision of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in patients with advanced esophageal cancer. Thirty patients underwent FDG-PET/CT before and after NAC. The maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) and metabolic tumor volume (MTV) were measured. Patients were divided into two pathological response groups: "responders" (grades 1b-3) or "non-responders" (grades 0-1a). Overall, 11 patients were responders. Significant differences were present for the post-NAC SUVmax (p=0.070), %decrease in SUVmax (p=0.017), post-NAC MTV (p=0.014), and %decrease in MTV (p=0.003). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the %decrease in MTV of the primary tumor was the best indicator of response to NAC. We are currently striving to improve the accuracy of this assessment method.