Andrew Thomas Colucci BA, Presenter: Nothing to Disclose

Steven James Sherry BS, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Mary Zoccoli MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Al Ozonoff PhD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Minh Tam Truong MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Rathan Markandan Subramaniam MD, Abstract Co-Author: Research support, General Electric Company

To establish the predictive ability of tumor glucose uptake, as measured by baseline standardized uptake value (SUVmax), to determine the progression free survival of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).    

A retrospective chart analysis on patients diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck from August 2004 to January 2007. Patients were followed for at least 24 months. The inclusion criteria are: newly diagnosed with biopsy-proven HNSCC, have had a baseline PET/CT at our Medical Center, are >18 years of age, and have had no prior head and neck malignancy. For history of other cancers, patients must have been disease free for at least 3 years. Data collected from chart review include: demographics, risk factors, imaging and pathology, tumor site/staging, and therapy details. The end point of the study was progression free survival and a Kaplan-Meier curve was constructed. We estimated differences in mean values of SUVmax between patients that progressed versus those that did not.

This is a preliminary result as only 44 of the 200 patients to be included in this study have been analyzed. Those patients that had no clinical progression (N = 26) had a  mean SUVmax of 15.75 ± 7.77, while patients who showed progression (N = 18) had a mean SUVmax of 19.1 ± 9.04. Patients who progressed had a higher mean SUVmax value of 3.39 (p=.21). Of these patients, the mean age was 62, 61% were male, and 67% were of Caucasian ethnicity (N=18). The major cancer sites for patients with progression were: tonsil (n=4), base of tongue (n=3), glottic (n=2), and supraglottic (n=2). 61% of these patients experienced nodal involvement (TNM: N>0, N=18). Those patients who did not show progression had a mean age of 61, were 73% male, and 62% were Caucasian (N=26). Common tumor sites for these patients were: tonsil (n=6), glottic (n=5), supraglottic (n=3), and base of tongue (n=3). These patients showed initial nodal involvement in 65% (N=26) of the time.  

Results presented are only for the 44 patients (out of 200) examined up to this point. While increased maxSUV does correlate with an increased likelihood for HNSCC progression, the preliminary results are not statistically significant.

Quantitative tumor metabolism measured by baseline FDG PET/CT SUVmax of primary tumor may be of potential value in predicting progression free survival.

Colucci, A, Sherry, S, Zoccoli, M, Ozonoff, A, Truong, M, Subramaniam, R, 18FDG PET/CT as a Predictive Biomarker of Patient Outcome: A Retrospective Validation Study in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Cancer.  Radiological Society of North America 2009 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting, November 29 - December 4, 2009 ,Chicago IL. http://archive.rsna.org/2009/8003143.html