¹⁸FDG-PET/CT Definition of Clinical Target Volume for Robotic Stereotactic Body Radiosurgery Treatment of Metastatic...

The objective of the current article was to evaluate 2-[¹⁸F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose ¹⁸F-FDG) as measured by positron emission tomography for delineation of abdominopelvic gross tumor volumes (GTV) for stereotactic body radiosurgery treatment (SBRT) of metastatic gynecologic cancers. A retrospective review of SBRT was conducted in 27 women with stage IV gynecologic cancers recurring in para-aortic lymph nodes. Robotic SBRT involved 2400 cGy in 3 consecutive 800 cGy daily fractions prescribed to a 3.0 mm expanded planning tumor volume (PTV) defined by both CT-based and ¹⁸F-FDG-based GTVs. In this study, ¹⁸F-FDG-based GTVs led to significantly larger PTVs in all 27 women, than if they had been based on CT GTVs alone (P < 0.001). Enlarged PTVs may have resulted from the breathing-induced target motion during the time of ¹⁸F-FDG image acquisition smearing ¹⁸F-FDG signal over a greater anatomic dimension. Ultimately, SBRT-target local control, based on the RECIST 1.1 criteria, was 96% (26 of 27), and associated with minor reversible toxicity. The use of ¹⁸F-FDG to define SBRT target volumes warrants further interrogation in SBRT clinical trials.