Evaluating early interim fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography with the SUV_max-liver-based interpretation for predicting the outcome in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Abstract

Interim ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT is an effective predictor in patients with DLBCL, but the standard evaluating criteria were controversial. In this study, investigators tried to investigate whether the liver SUV_max (SUV_max-liver)-based interpretation could improve the accuracy of predicting the outcomes, comparing with the Deauville five-point scale (5-PS) and the reduction rate of the maximum standardized uptake value (ΔSUV_max) criteria. In 119 patients, PET/CT after two chemotherapy cycles (PET2) were evaluated with the SUV_max-liver-based interpretation, 5-PS, and ΔSUV_max criteria. Uni- and multivariate analyses were performed. The optimal threshold for the SUV_max-liver-based interpretation was 1.6 fold of SUV_max-liver. Using the SUV_max-liver-based interpretation, the 3-year PFS and OS were 19.9% and 33.0% for patients with a positive residue while 78.2% and 86.4% for patients with negative results (p < .001). SUV_max-liver-based interpretation demonstrated slightly superior accuracy, and was independent predictor for PFS and OS (p ≤ .001). Thus, early interim ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT effectively predicts the outcome in patients with DLBCL using SUV_max-liver-based interpretation.

Keywords:

• Interim positron emission tomography
• diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
• prognosis
• SUV_max-liver-based interpretation

Acknowledgments

The study was supported by a grant from Beijing Natural Science Foundation (No. 7132037) and Beijing Municipal Administration of Hospitals Incubating Program (No. PX2017028). No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported. This retrospective study was performed and approved by an Investigational Review Board of the Peking University Cancer Hospital, and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Potential conflict of interest

Disclosure forms provided by the authors are available with the full text of this article online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10428194.2016.1277384.