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FDG-PET delayed imaging for the detection of head and neck cancer recurrence after radio-chemotherapy: comparison with MRI/CT

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Abstract

In advanced head and neck cancer, an organ-sparing approach comprising radiation therapy combined with intra-arterial chemotherapy has become an important technique. However, the high incidence of residual masses after therapy remains a problem. In this study, we prospectively evaluated the use of 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) delayed imaging for the detection of recurrence of head and neck cancer after radio-chemotherapy, and compared the FDG-PET results with those of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT). Forty-three lesions from 36 patients with head and neck cancer suspected to represent recurrence after radio-chemotherapy (median interval from therapy, 4 months) were studied. PET was performed at 2 h after FDG injection, and evaluated. The results were compared to those of contrast studies with MRI or CT performed within 2 weeks of the PET study, and to histological diagnosis (in all patients suspected of having recurrence) or clinical diagnosis. The lesion-based sensitivity (visual interpretation) and negative predictive value of FDG-PET (88% and 91%, respectively) were higher than those of MRI/CT (75% and 67% respectively). The specificity, accuracy and positive predictive value of FDG-PET (78%, 81% and 70%, respectively) were significantly (P<0.05) higher than those of MRI/CT (30%, 47% and 39% respectively). Three of six patients with false positive findings had post-therapy inflammation. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that retrospective evaluation with the standardised uptake ratio yielded the best results (sensitivity 87.5%, specificity 81.5%), followed by visual interpretation and then the tumour/neck muscle ratio. An FDG-PET delayed imaging protocol yielded significantly better results for the detection of recurrence of head and neck cancer after radio-chemotherapy than MRI/CT. Because of the high negative predictive value of FDG-PET (91.3%), if PET is negative, further invasive procedures may be unnecessary.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the staff of the Cyclotron Radioisotope Center and the Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, and in particular Mr. Watanuki and Mr. Miyake. This work was supported by Grant-in-Aid No.12470183, 15659276 from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, Japan.

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Correspondence to Kazuo Kubota.

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Kubota, K., Yokoyama, J., Yamaguchi, K. et al. FDG-PET delayed imaging for the detection of head and neck cancer recurrence after radio-chemotherapy: comparison with MRI/CT. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 31, 590–595 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-003-1408-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-003-1408-6

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