Abstract
PurposeThe aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical value of simultaneous positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) and abdominal positron emission tomography/magnet resonance imaging (PET/MRI) in the detection of liver metastases and extrahepatic disease (EHD) in patients with potentially resectable colorectal liver metastases (CLM).MethodsFifty-six patients with CLM underwent conventional imaging (chest and abdomen CT, liver contrast-enhanced CT or MRI) and PET imaging [fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) PET/CT and subsequent liver PET/MRI] for staging or restaging. Diagnostic ability of PET imaging was compared with conventional imaging. Abnormal findings were correlated with follow-up imaging and/or histology. The influence of the PET imaging findings was categorized for each patient in relation to operability and other significant findings. The clinical management included three modalities (surgery for resectable CLM, unresectable CLM with conversion treatment, and systemic therapy). The clinical impact of the imaging modality was analyzed. The operative histopathological analysis and/or imaging follow-up were performed as the standard of reference.ResultsThis study enrolled a total of 56 patients (median age 60 years, 62.5% were male, 36 with colon cancer and 20 with rectal cancer). For EHD detection, PET/CT detected more EHD than conventional imaging (60.7% vs. 46.4%). PET/CT had different findings in 19 (33.9%) patients, including downstaging in 4 (7.1%) patients and upstaging in 15 (26.8%) patients. For liver lesion detection, PET/MRI showed comparable detection ability with CE-MRI and CE-CT (99.5%, 99.4%, and 86.5%, respectively) based on lesion analysis, much higher than PET/CT (47.5%). PET imaging had a major impact in 10/56 (17.9%) patients (4 from unresectable to resectable, 6 from resectable to unresectable) and a minor impact in 4/56 (7.1%) patients for changing the surgery extent. The therapeutic strategies had been altered in a total of 14/56 patients (25%) after PET/CT and PET/MRI scans.ConclusionThe results of this study indicate that simultaneous 18F-FDG PET/CT and abdominal PET/MRI scans can provide accurate information regarding CLM status and EHD, and can affect the management of 25% of the patients by changing the therapeutic strategies determined by conventional imaging. This new modality may serve as a new one-stop method in patients with potentially resectable CLM.
Highlights
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers
56 patients with colorectal liver metastases were included in the final analysis
The current study investigated the role of PET/CT and abdomen positron emission tomography/magnet resonance imaging (PET/MRI) in the preoperative work-up of patients with colorectal liver metastases under consideration for curative resection
Summary
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers. Long-term patient outcome is heavily influenced by the initial stage. 25%–30% of patients have hepatic metastases at presentation. Recurrent disease is seen in up to 30% of patients within 2 years of initial resection, in which the majority manifests as liver metastases [1]. Liver resection for colorectal liver metastasis (CLM) is an established treatment and offers a realistic chance of disease-free survival. Five-year survival rates following liver resection have been reported at approximately 30% with a perioperative mortality rate of
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