Prognostic Value of the 18 F-FDG PET/CT and Haematological Parameters in Head and Neck Cancer.

Introduction: Fluorine 18-fluoro-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ( ¹⁸ F-FDG PET/CT) is commonly used for the staging of head and neck cancer. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between ¹⁸ F-FDG PET/CT, haematological parameters and prognosis in patients with advanced head and neck cancer.
Methods: This was a single-institutional retrospective study of 83 patients with advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) who underwent ¹⁸ F-FDG PET/CT imaging before initial treatment between 2014 and 2018. ¹⁸ F-FDG PET/CT after treatment was performed in 57 patients. The prognostic parameters of the pre- and post-treatment maximum standardised uptake value (SUV _max ), metabolic tumour volume (MTV), total lesion glycolysis (TLG) of primary tumours and haematological parameters were analysed to evaluate the association between overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS).
Results: Pre-MTV, pre-TLG and post-SUV _max were significantly associated with poor OS and PFS (p < 0.05). Haematological parameters, including pretreatment neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio and C-reactive protein/albumin ratio, were associated with ¹⁸ F-FDG PET/CT parameters. In multivariate analysis, post-SUV _max was an independent prognostic factor for OS and PFS.
Conclusion: A correlation between PET/CT metabolic and haematological parameters was observed. The volume and intensity of ¹⁸ F-FDG uptake region, in addition to haematological parameters, are feasible markers for predicting the progression of HNSCC in daily practice. Further, post-SUV _max could be an independent parameter for predicting poor survival.
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