Prognostic value of 18F-FDG PET-CT in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Abstract

Objective To investigate the prognostic value of 18F-FDG PET-CT in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Methods The clinical data of 130 DLBCL patients from June 2009 to May 2015 and pretreatment 18F-FDG PET-CT were retrospectively analyzed. Results The 130 DLBCL patients' median of maximal standard uptake value (SUVmax), metabolic tumor volume (MTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) was 19.93, 34.45 cm3, 459.92 respectively. Univariate analysis showed that the affecting factors of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rate included Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) grade, Ann Arbor stage, β2-MG, lactate dehydrogenase level, tumor diameter, bone marrow involvement, National Comprehensive Cancer Network International Prognostic Index (NCCN-IPI), MTV and TLG (all P < 0.05), while age was related with PFS rate (P < 0.05). As MTV and TLG were strongly correlated, only TLG measure was used for multivariate analysis. The result showed that ECOG grade, Ann Arbor stage, NCCN-IPI and TLG were statistically significant predictors of PFS rate, and NCCN-IPI and TLG were independent factors of OS rate (all P < 0.05). According to TLG and NCCN-IPI, the patients were divided into three groups: low risk group, mediate risk group and high risk group. The 3-year PFS rates of these groups were 66.0%, 36.8% and 26.1% respectively (P < 0.05), and the 3-year OS rates of these groups were 70.0%,49.1% and 39.1% respectively (P < 0.05). Conclusion TLG in 18F-FDG PET-CT is an independent prognostic factor for PFS and OS in patients with DLBCL, which has a reference value for prognosis of DLBCL. Key words: Lymphoma, large B-cell, diffuse; Prognosis; Tomography, X-ray computed; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18