Prognostic value of 18F-FDG PET/CT before and after radiotherapy for locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of maximal standard uptake values (SUVs(max)) from serial fluor-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ((18)F-FDG PET/CT) in patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). MATERIALS AND METHODS From October 2002 to January 2004, 62 patients with locally advanced NPC who underwent (18)F-FDG PET/CT scan before and after radiotherapy were reviewed retrospectively. We examined the association of SUV(max) and the results of long-term follow-up of the patients. RESULTS Patients having tumors with a lower SUV(max) had significantly better 5-year overall survival (OS) (P= 0.0187) and disease-free survival (DFS) (P = 0.0163) than patients with a greater SUV(max). The patients who showed with metabolic complete response had a significantly higher 5-year OS (P = 0.0237) and DFS (P = 0.0186) than patients with metabolic partial response. Poor prognosis was found in patients with the SUV(max) of neck nodes larger than that at the primary tumor site (SUV(max-N) > SUV(max-P)) (P = 0.0440). CONCLUSIONS (18)F-FDG uptake, as measured by the SUV(max) before radiotherapy and metabolic response after radiotherapy, may predict the prognosis in locally advanced NPC. High (18)F-FDG uptake before and after radiotherapy may be useful for identifying patients requiring more aggressive treatment.