Prognostic value of baseline ¹⁸ F-FDG PET/CT metabolic parameters in paediatric lymphoma

In the present study, we aimed to investigate the prognostic value of metabolic parameters, including maximum standardized uptake value (SUV_max ), total metabolic tumour volume (tMTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG), measured at baseline ¹⁸ F-FDG PET/CT in paediatric lymphoma.

From March 2013 to April 2019, 47 patients with paediatric lymphoma, including 38 males and nine females with an average age of 14.87 years, who underwent ¹⁸ F-FDG PET/CT scan prior to treatment were retrospectively included in this study. SUV_max , MTV and TLG were recorded. Survival curves were established according to the Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank test. Mann-Whitney U-test was used to assess differences in metabolic parameters between different clinical outcomes.

The median follow-up time was 36 months (range of 3-74 months). The 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) of the low TLG and high TLG groups was 95.24% (20/21) and 57.69% (15/26), respectively (P = 0.004). TLG and tMTV were significantly higher in progression-free patients compared with the progression group. Univariate analysis showed that B symptoms (P = 0.014), effusion (P = 0.010), tMTV (P = 0.008) and TLG (P = 0.004) were the predictive factors for PFS. The tMTV (P = 0.005), TLG (P = 0.005) and effusion (P = 0.003) were associated with OS. Multivariate analysis revealed that TLG was the only independent prognostic factor for PFS (HR = 11.133, 95% CI = 1.435-86.405, P = 0.021).

Collectively, TLG of baseline ¹⁸ F-FDG PET/CT was an independent prognostic factor for PFS in patients with paediatric lymphoma.