Abstract

AimTo assess the clinical utility of PERCIST and Hopkins criteria and changes in [18F]FDG PET/CT quantitative parameters as prognostic factors for progression-free survival (PFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treated by chemoradiotherapy. Material and methodsForty patients (34 men) diagnosed with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma were retrospectively assessed over an interval of 8 years. PERCIST and Hopkins criteria were used to assess response to treatment. Variations in the metabolic parameters maximum SUV (ΔSUVmax), metabolic tumor volume (ΔMTV) and total lesion glycolysis (ΔTLG) between pre- and post-treatment PET/CT studies were also determined. Cox regression model, ROC curves and Kaplan-Meier method were used for the analysis of prognostic factors and survival curves. ResultsThe average follow-up was 39.4 months, with 24 progressions and 22 deaths. Both PERCIST and Hopkins criteria and the three metabolic parameters were predictive factors in the univariate analysis and only ΔSUVmax in the multivariate analysis. Survival analysis showed statistically significant differences in PFS and CSS curves for the five parameters considered. ConclusionApplication of PERCIST and Hopkins criteria as well as ΔSUVmax, ΔMTV and ΔTLG from PET/CT studies proved to be prognostic factors for survival in patients in our setting treated for head and neck cancer. The results could help to personalize treatment.

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