Application of PET/CT to adjuvant chemotherapy for early lung adenocarcinoma

Results Ninety patients received adjuvant chemotherapy and 84 did not. Patients given adjuvant chemotherapy were older, but had the lower T status tumor than patients who were not (both, p < 0.001). Adjuvant chemotherapy conferred benefits upon recurrence-free interval and overall survival compared with observation (p = 0.007 and p = 0.004, respectively). Multivariate Cox proportional hazard analyses revealed SUVmax as an independent prognostic factor for recurrence-free interval (hazard ratio 8.03, p < 0.001). Recurrence-free interval and overall survival were significantly longer for patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy compared with those who did not in the group with SUVmax ≤ 2.6 (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). However, recurrence-free interval and overall survival did not significantly differ between such patients in the group with SUVmax < 2.6 (p = 0.421 and p = 0.452, respectively).