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Prognostic value of metabolic tumor volume as measured by fluorine‐18‐fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography in nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Author(s) -
Yoon YoungHo,
Lee SeokHwan,
Hong SungLyong,
Kim SeongJang,
Roh HwanJung,
Cho KyuSup
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
international forum of allergy and rhinology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.503
H-Index - 46
eISSN - 2042-6984
pISSN - 2042-6976
DOI - 10.1002/alr.21363
Subject(s) - medicine , nasopharyngeal carcinoma , positron emission tomography , standardized uptake value , proportional hazards model , hazard ratio , nuclear medicine , radiation therapy , fluorodeoxyglucose , retrospective cohort study , oncology , radiology , confidence interval
Background The prognostic value of the tumor burden characterized by the metabolic tumor volume (MTV) remains under investigation in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of the maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max ) and MTV according to metabolic volume threshold as measured by positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT), and other clinical factors, in patients with NPC. Methods This study was a retrospective chart review. We evaluated the association of SUV max , MTV 2.5 , MTV 3.0 , and other clinical factors with overall survival (OS) using Kaplan‐Meier and Cox regression models. (MTV 2.5 and MTV 3.0 are the volume of hypermetabolic tissue within the regions of gross tumor volumes with a SUV value greater than the threshold values of 2.5 and 3.0, respectively.) Results Higher MTV 2.5 of 31.45 cm 3 and MTV 3.0 of 23.01 cm 3 were associated with an increased risk of death (hazard ratio [HR] = 5.028; p = 0.029), although no significant relationship was found between SUV max and OS. Interestingly, MTV 3.0 was associated with OS in both the differentiated and undifferentiated groups, although MTV 2.5 was only associated with OS in the undifferentiated group. Among the clinical parameters, only radiotherapy was associated with longer OS (HR = 12.124; p < 0.001). Conclusion The MTV and radiotherapy could be prognostic values associated with OS. Particularly, MTV 2.5 and MTV 3.0 might be valuable metabolic parameters for predicting long‐term survival in patients with NPC. Furthermore, MTV 3.0 may be more useful because it can be applied irrespective of pathologic subtype.