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Texture analysis of 18F-FDG PET/CT to predict tumour response and prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer treated by chemoradiotherapy

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European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

This retrospective study was done to examine whether the heterogeneity in primary tumour F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) distribution can predict tumour response and prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer treated by chemoradiotherapy (CRT).

Methods

The enrolled 52 patients with esophageal cancer underwent 18F-FDG-PET/CT studies before CRT. SUVmax, SUVmean, metabolic tumour volume (MTV, SUV ≥ 2.5), total lesion glycolysis (TLG) and six heterogeneity parameters assessed by texture analysis were obtained. Patients were classified as responders or non-responders according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated by the Kaplan–Meier method. Prognostic significance was assessed by Cox proportional hazards analysis.

Results

Thirty four non-responders showed significantly higher MTV (p = 0.006), TLG (p = 0.007), intensity variability (IV; p = 0.003) and size-zone variability (SZV; p = 0.004) than 18 responders. The positive and negative predictive values for non-responders were 77 % and 69 % in MTV, 76 % and 100 % in TLG, 78 % and 67 % in IV and 78 % and 82 % in SZV, respectively. Although PFS and OS were significantly shorter in patients with high MTV (PFS, p = 0.018; OS, p = 0.014), TLG (PFS, p = 0.009; OS, p = 0.025), IV (PFS, p = 0.013; OS, p = 0.007) and SZV (PFS, p = 0.010; OS, p = 0.007) at univariate analysis, none of them was an independent factor, while lymph node status, stage and tumour response status were independent factors at multivariate analysis.

Conclusion

Texture features IV and SZV, and volumetric parameters MTV and TLG can predict tumour response, but all of them have limited value in prediction of prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer treated by CRT.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University, 8-35-1 Sakuragaoka, Kagoshima, 890-8544, Japan

    Masatoyo Nakajo, Megumi Jinguji, Yoshiaki Nakabeppu, Ryutarou Higashi, Yoshihiko Fukukura & Takashi Yoshiura

  2. Department of Radiology, Nanpuh Hospital, 14-3 Nagata, Kagoshima, 892-8512, Japan

    Masayuki Nakajo

  3. Department of Digestive Surgery, Breast and Thyroid Surgery, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University, 8-35-1 Sakuragaoka, Kagoshima, 890-8544, Japan

    Ken Sasaki, Yasuto Uchikado & Shoji Natsugoe

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  1. Masatoyo Nakajo
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Correspondence to Masatoyo Nakajo.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed consent

Informed consent was waived by the institutional review board for this retrospective study.

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Nakajo, M., Jinguji, M., Nakabeppu, Y. et al. Texture analysis of 18F-FDG PET/CT to predict tumour response and prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer treated by chemoradiotherapy. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 44, 206–214 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-016-3506-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-016-3506-2

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