Brief Article
Copyright ©2012 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Sep 28, 2012; 18(36): 5072-5077
Published online Sep 28, 2012. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v18.i36.5072
Prognostic value of 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography in resectable colorectal cancer
Jang Eun Lee, Sang Woo Kim, Jin Su Kim, Kyu Yong Choi, Won Kyung Kang, Seong Taek Oh, Ie Ryung Yoo, Sung Hoon Kim
Jang Eun Lee, Sang Woo Kim, Jin Su Kim, Kyu Yong Choi, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of South Korea, Seoul 137-701, South Korea
Won Kyung Kang, Seong Taek Oh, Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of South Korea, Seoul 137-701, South Korea
Ie Ryung Yoo, Sung Hoon Kim, Department of Radiology, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of South Korea, Seoul 137-701, South Korea
Author contributions: Lee JE and Kim SW designed the study and analyzed the data; Lee JE, Kim SW, Kim JS and Choi KY analyzed the date and contributed to the interpretation; Kang WK and Oh ST performed surgery and contributed to the materials; Yoo IR and Kim SH reviewed the FDG-PET/CT and contributed to the materials; and Lee JE and Kim SW wrote the manuscript.
Correspondence to: Sang Woo Kim, MD, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of South Korea, 505 Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul 137-701, South Korea. viper@catholic.ac.kr
Telephone: +82-2-22582083 Fax: +82-2-22582089
Received: January 28, 2012
Revised: March 9, 2012
Accepted: March 20, 2012
Published online: September 28, 2012
Abstract

AIM: To assess the prognostic value of preoperative 18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET)/computed tomography (CT) in patients with resectable colorectal cancer.

METHODS: One hundred sixty-three patients with resectable colorectal cancer who underwent FDG-PET/CT before surgery were included. Patient data including pathologic stage at presentation, histology, treatment, disease-free survival and the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of the primary tumor on FDG-PET/CT were retrospectively analyzed. Median follow up duration was 756 (range, 419-1355). The primary end point was disease-free survival.

RESULTS: Twenty-five of 163 patients (15.3%) had recurrences. The median SUVmax values of the recurrence and no-recurrence groups were 8.9 (range, 5-24) and 8.2 (range, 0-23, P = 0.998). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed no significant association between SUVmax and recurrence (area under the curve = 0.5, P = 0.998, 95% CI: 0.389-0.611). Because a statistically significant value was not found, SUVmax was dichotomized at its median of 8.6. The disease-free survival curve was analyzed using the median SUVmax (8.6) as the cut off. Univariate and multivariate analysis did not provide evidence that disease-free survival rates for the subgroups defined by the median SUVmax were significantly different (P = 0.52, P = 0.25).

CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that the high FDG uptake of primary mass in resectable colorectal cancer doesn’t have a significant relationship with tumor recurrence and disease-free survival.

Keywords: Positron-emission tomography; Colorectal neoplasms; Disease-free survival; Recurrence; Prognosis