Prognostic value of (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake before treatment for pharyngeal cancer

The purpose of this study was to evaluate an association found between overall survival of patients with pharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and pretreatment [(18)F]-2-fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG) uptake, which are assessed by positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography (PET/CT). Next, we asked whether (18)F-FDG uptake is correlated with overall survival in patients with pharyngeal SCC who underwent radical treatments such as surgery and radiotherapy in the multivariate analysis with adjustments for the clinical stage, primary site and treatment group.

Forty-nine patients who were newly diagnosed as resectable pharyngeal SCC underwent pretreatment (18)F-FDG-PET/CT. We used the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) as (18)F-FDG uptake. Overall survival rate was calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate survival analysis was analyzed by log-rank test, and multivariate survival analysis was performed by a Cox proportional hazards model.

Patients with SUVmax of the primary site ≥8 significantly exhibited shorter overall survival in univariate analysis (p < 0.04). Moreover, SUVmax of the primary site ≥8 was a significant prognostic factor in the multivariate analysis (p < 0.03).

These results suggested that SUVmax of the primary site obtained by pretreatment (18)F-FDG-PET/CT assessment is an important prognostic factor in patients with pharyngeal SCC.