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Metabolic and morphological measurements of subcutaneous and visceral fat and their relationship with disease stage and overall survival in newly diagnosed pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Metabolic and morphological fat measurements in pancreatic adenocarcinoma

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

Abstract

Purpose

The relationship between tumor metabolism and stage, subcutaneous and visceral fat thickness, and their glucose metabolism and overall survival in patients recently diagnosed with pancreatic carcinoma was assessed.

Methods

Thirty-eight consecutive patients were studied. Subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT), visceral fat thickness (VFT), and their corresponding FDG SUVmean, as well as SUVmean and SUVmax values of the primary tumor (PT) were derived from FDG-PET CT imaging. Results obtained as well as clinical variables obtained, including gender and BMI, were related to patient outcome. Median follow-up was 382 days (range: 36–917 days).

Results

Median age was 66 years (13 women). Mean BMI was 24.6 (SD: 4.5). Lymph node (LN) involvement was diagnosed in 17 patients and 14 patients presented with distant metastases. Mean SUV max and SUVmean values of the PT were 9.0 (SD 5.9) and 4.2 (SD 2.1). Mean values of SFT and VFT were, respectively, 11.9 mm (range 1–31.7 mm) and 11.5 mm (range 0–49.8 mm). The corresponding SUVmean values were 0.4 (range 0–1.0) and 0.6 (range 0.0–1.6). SUVmean values of SFT proved significantly lower in LNpositive versus LNnegative patients (p = 0.021), in patients with and without metastatic disease (p = 0.017) and in stage III+IV patients versus stage I+II patients (p = 0.03). An inverse logarithmic relationship was found between SUVmean values of subcutaneous fat and SUVmean values of the PT (p = 0.02). Only disease stage dichotomized according to stage I+IIA versus stage IIB+III+IV was predictive of overall survival (p = 0.05).

Conclusion

Glucose metabolism of subcutaneous fat in de novo diagnosed pancreas carcinoma patients presenting with lymph node involvement and metastatic disease is significantly reduced and inversely correlated to the primary tumor metabolism. Of the various fat-related variables studied, none proved significantly related to outcome.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nuclear Medicine, AZ Groeninge, Reepkaai 4, 8500, Kortrijk, Belgium

    Christophe Van de Wiele, Mathias Van Vlaenderen & Alex Maes

  2. Department of Nuclear Medicine and Radiology, University Ghent, De Pintelaan 185, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Christophe Van de Wiele & Ludovic D’Hulst

  3. Department of Nuclear Medicine, CH de Mouscron, Avenue de Fécamp 49 B, 7000, Mouscron, Belgium

    Anne Delcourt

  4. Department of Nuclear Medicine, CHwapi, Avenue Delmée 9, 7500, Tournai, Belgium

    Dominique Copin

  5. Laboratory of Drug Quality and Registration, University Ghent, Ottergemsesteenweg 460, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Bart De Spiegeleer

  6. University of Leuven KULAK, Etienne Sabbelaan 53, 8500, Kortrijk, Belgium

    Alex Maes

Authors
  1. Christophe Van de Wiele
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  2. Mathias Van Vlaenderen
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  3. Ludovic D’Hulst
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  4. Anne Delcourt
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christophe Van de Wiele.

Ethics declarations

All procedures performed in this study including patients were in accordance with the Ethical Standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Funding

No funding was received for this study.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Van de Wiele, C., Van Vlaenderen, M., D’Hulst, L. et al. Metabolic and morphological measurements of subcutaneous and visceral fat and their relationship with disease stage and overall survival in newly diagnosed pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 44, 110–116 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-016-3525-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-016-3525-z

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