Maximum Standard Unit Value (SUVmax) is an indicator for overall survival in lung cancer

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess degree of tumour uptake measured by SUV max in predicting overall survival in patients diagnosed mainly with NSCLC and had baseline pre-treatment PET/CT for staging. Methods: A total of 103 patients (median age 71 years, 53 male and 50 female) diagnosed with different histological types of lung cancer and had variant TNM staging. All patients underwent pre-treatment PET/CT for staging between 2006 and 2017. SUV max was used as a semi-quantitative method to assess tumour activity. Overall survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression models. Results: Total 103 patients were enrolled into this study. Median overall survival for all 70 died patients was 11.90 months (range 1.3- 107.7 months; mean ± SD=19.6 ± 21.2 months). The median follow up for 33 alive patients was 87.50 months. Lowest SUVmax was 1.2; highest value was 36.6; (Mean ± SD) SUVmax was 13.7± 6.7 and median SUVmax value was 13.11. Histopathology*SUVmax (HR 2.40; P-value Conclusion: High FDG tumour activity of a primary lung cancer in pre-treatment PET scan measured by SUV max was significantly associated with poor overall survival in patients mainly diagnosed with NSCLC. Maximum standard uptake value of primary lung cancer might be a sensitive tool for predicting overall survival in lung cancer patients.