Predictive value of metabolic tumor volume and total lesion glycolysis in 18F-FDG PET-CT imaging for postoperative recurrence and prognosis in patients with pancreatic cancer

Abstract

Objective To investigate the predictive value of metabolic tumor volume(MTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) calculated from 18F-FDG PET-CT results for postoperative recurrence and prognosis in patients with resectable pancreatic cancer. Methods From may 2009 to December 2015, 30 patients with pancreatic cancer who underwent curative resection after PET-CT examination were enrolled, and the clinic pathological data and 18F-FDG PET-CT data were retrospectively analyzed. The prognostic value of SUVmax, SUVmean, MTV, TLG and other prognosis factors were analyzed. Results In 30 patients with pancreatic cancer, preoperative 18F-FDG PET-CT detected all primary lesion (10 0%). 29 patients were recurrence or metastasis, and 26 patients were died with median of 17.8 months (2.6-39.6 months) follow-up. The median progression-free survival (PFS) time was 6.5 months and the median overall survival(OS) time was 11.6 months. The multivariate analysis revealed the histological differentiation and MTV were the independent influencing factors for PFS (both P<0.05). The lymph node metastasis, MTV and TLG were the independent influencing factors for OS (all P<0.05). Conclusion The MTV and TLG of PET-CT may be predicting the recurrence and survival of patients with pancreatic cancer after curative resection, suggesting that it can be used to guide the individual treatment. Key words: Pancreatic neoplasms; Prognosis; Metabolic tumor volume; Deoxyglucose