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Purpose: There is still no definite method to determine therapeutic response in pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis (PVO). We analyzed the value of 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) for assessing therapeutic response in PVO., Methods: This retrospective study included 53 patients (32 men and 21 women) with lumbar PVO. The results of clinical assessments for therapeutic response were divided into "Cured" (group C) and "Non-cured" (group NC). The differences in clinical and radiological features of PVO lesions between the two groups were analyzed using clinical data and simultaneous FDG-PET/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) obtained at each clinical assessment., Results: Clinical assessments and FDG-PET/MRIs were performed at 41.89 ± 16.08 (21-91) days of parenteral antibiotic therapy. There were 39 patients in group C and 14 in group NC. Diagnostic accuracies (DAs) of FDG uptake intensity-based interpretation and C-reactive protein (CRP) for residual PVO were as follows ( p < 0.01): 84.9% of the maximum standardized uptake value of PVO lesion (PvoSUV max ), 86.8% of ΔPvoSUV max -NmlSUV max (SUV max of normal vertebra), 86.8% of ΔPvoSUV max -NmlSUV mean (SUV mean of normal vertebra), and 71.7% of CRP. DAs were better (92.5-94.3%) when applying FDG uptake intensity-based interpretation and CRP together. Under the FDG uptake distribution-based interpretation, FDG uptake was significantly limited to intervertebral structures in group C ( p = 0.026)., Conclusion: The interpretations of intensity and distribution of FDG uptake on FDG-PET are useful for detecting residual PVO in the assessment of therapeutic response of PVO. The combination of FDG-PET and CRP is expected to increase DA for detecting residual PVO.

This study aimed to develop a prognosis-predicting model based on [ 18 F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ( 18 F-FDG PET/CT) and clinicopathologic factors in locally advanced cervical cancer patients treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). The medical records of 270 locally advanced cervical cancer patients who were treated with CCRT were collected from three institutions and reviewed retrospectively. A nomogram was used for predicting 2-year disease-free survival (DFS) and 5-year overall survival (OS) based on Cox proportional hazards regression. Predictor variables included nodal maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), primary tumor SUVmax, age, tumor size, stage, serum squamous cell carcinoma antigen level, and human papillomavirus status. Internal nomogram validation was performed. A nomogram for predicting the 2-year DFS and 5-year OS was constructed using six and seven parameters, respectively. With a focus on 2-year DFS, our model found nodal SUVmax to be the highest weighted negative prognostic factor. With a focus on 5-year OS, young age was the highest weighted negative prognostic factor. The concordance index was 0.75 and 0.78 for the 2-year DFS and 5-year OS, respectively. This nomogram is a predictive tool that can be used to counsel patients for predicting survival outcomes. Moreover, our prognosis-predicting model may make it possible to personalize treatment.