Detecting Interval Distant Metastases With 18F-FDG PET/CT After Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy for Locally Advanced Esophageal Cancer

• Published in: Clinical nuclear medicine 2022-06, Vol.47 (6), p.496-502
• Main Authors: Kroese, Tiuri E., Ruurda, Jelle P., Bakker, Anne S., Jairam, Jasvir, Mook, Stella, van der Horst, Sylvia, Meijer, Gert J., Haj Mohammad, Nadia, van Rossum, Peter S.N., van Hillegersberg, Richard
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Original
• ISSN: 0363-9762; 1536-0229
• DOI: 10.1097/RLU.0000000000004191

Patients with esophageal cancer can develop distant metastases between the start of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) and planned surgery (ie, interval distant metastases). 18F-FDG PET/CT restaging after nCRT detects interval distant metastases in ~8% of patients. This study aimed to identify patients for whom 18F-FDG PET/CT restaging after nCRT could be omitted using an existing prediction model predicting for interval distant metastases or by using clinical stage groups. Patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer who underwent baseline and restaging 18F-FDG PET/CT, nCRT, and were planned for esophagectomy between 2017 and 2021 were eligible for inclusion in this retrospective study. The primary outcome was the existing model's external performance (ie, discrimination and calibration) for predicting interval distant metastases. The existing model predictors included tumor length, cN status, squamous cell carcinoma histology, and baseline SUVmax. The secondary outcome determined the clinical stage groups (AJCC/UICC eighth edition) for adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma for which the incidence of interval distant metastases was