¹⁸F-FDG uptake on PET correlates with biological potential in early oral squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Conclusion: The maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of early oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) may have a role as an imaging biomarker for assessment of malignant potential, including cell metabolism and angiogenesis. Objective: The usefulness of ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) has been proven in various cancers, including OSCC. Moreover, in several carcinomas, the SUVmax of the tumor has been shown to correlate with the histological type, tumor stage, differentiation, and prognosis. Here, we investigated whether the SUVmax of early OSCC was associated with the biological features. Methods: Twenty-seven patients with newly diagnosed early OSCC who underwent preoperative FDG-PET and curative surgical resection were included in this study. Tumor sections were stained by immunohistochemistry for glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1), L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1), CD98, microvessels (CD34), cell proliferation marker (Ki-67), and cell cycle regulator (p53). The correlation between SUVmax and clinicopathological findings or the expression level of these molecules was analyzed. Results: SUVmax of primary OSCC was significantly higher in patients with T2 stage. Moreover, patients whose tumors showed vascular invasion had a tendency to show higher SUVmax. A significant correlation was observed between SUVmax and the expression of LAT1 or microvessel density.

Keywords:

• SUVmax
• imaging biomarkers
• angiogenesis
• cell metabolism

Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by grants-in-aid (no. 25861525 to M.T., no. 24791820 to K.S., no. 26670736 to K.C.) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport, Science and Technology of Japan. We thank Dr Goro Takahashi (Department of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine) for his cooperation in statistical analysis.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.