Clinical usefulness of FDG-PET in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing surgical resection

Diagnosis and staging of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is critical because of the variety of treatment methods and prognosis. [¹⁸F]fludeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography ([¹⁸F]FDG-PET/CT) has been suggested as a diagnostic modality in HCC. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of FDG-PET for staging of HCC after surgical resection and histological confirmation.

We retrospectively collected data of 56 patients that underwent FDG-PET before surgical resection for HCC March 2011-May 2017, all of whom were suitable for resection by conventional HCC staging. Results of the maximal standardized uptake value (SUVmax) were compared with histological confirmation.

A larger tumor size was related with higher SUVmax (≥4.9). The serum alpha-feto protein was associated with SUVmax. Recurrence rate was higher in patients with higher SUVmax and patients with lower SUVmax had a better survival rate.

The SUVmax correlates well with tumor size and factors associated with biological behavior of HCC such as alpha-feto protein, and it could be a beneficial modality in providing prognostic information for HCC.