Prognostic value of 18F-FDG PET-CT-based functional parameters in patients with soft tissue sarcoma: A meta-analysis

Considering the clinical importance of high 5-year mortality, we performed a meta-analysis of maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), metabolic tumor volume (MTV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) from F-FDG PET-CT for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with soft tissue sarcoma.

The search and selection of eligible articles was conducted on PubMed and EMBASE. We applied hazard ratio (HR) and odd ratio (OR) to measure the correlation between SUVmax, MTV, and TLG with PFS and OS. The SUVmax was analyzed through subgroup in terms of histological grade and HR of posttreatment SUVmax was also assessed.

Eleven studies with 582 patients were included. The pooled HRs of pretreatment SUVmax were 2.40 (95% CI: 1.38-4.17) for OS and 2.20 (95% CI: 1.47-3.30) for PFS. The HRs in terms of OS were 3.20 (95% CI: 1.71-5.98) based on MTV and 5.20 (95% CI: 2.34-11.56) based on TLG. Meanwhile, the predict results of pretreatment SUVmax on OR remained significant and the HRs of posttreatment SUVmax were 2.25 (95% CI: 1.33-3.80) for OS and 2.87 (95% CI: 1.81-4.55) for PFS.

The pretreatment SUVmax, MTV, and TLG of F-FDG PET-CT showed significant prognostic value for OS and the PET-CT can be used in identifying high-risk patients about progression and survival. The analysis for posttreatment SUVmax suggested PET-CT as a promising equipment in monitoring therapy response.