Abstract:

Objective: To analyze the prognostic value of metabolic parameters of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT examination [maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), metabolic tumor volume (MTV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG)] in patients with natural killer (NK)/T-cell lymphoma. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 27 patients with pathologically confirmed NK/T-cell lymphoma who underwent baseline PET/CT before treatment and then receiving the same treatment was performed. The median follow-up was 23 months. Each patient had at least one PET/CT re-assessment during follow-up or at the end of treatment. The PET/CT metabolic parameters SUVmax, MTV and TLG were analyzed statistically. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used to assess the progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Results: Of the 27 patients, 5 had disease progression and 3 of them died. Among the PET/CT parameters, MTV and TLG were the predictors of PFS in patients with NK/T-cell lymphoma (MTV: P=0.013, TLG: P=0.029), while SUVmax could not predict PFS (P=0.661). However, none of the 3 metabolic parameters could predict the OS (SUVmax, P=0.293; MTV, P=0.198; TLG, P=0.108). Conclusions: ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT metabolic parameters MTV, TLG may help predicting PFS in patients with NK/T-cell lymphoma, but cannot predict OS; SUVmax is of little value in prognostic prediction of NK/T-cell lymphoma

Key words: Natural killer/T-cell lymphoma, ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT, Prognostic value