Metabolic tumor volume and total lesion glycolysis predict tumor progression and survival after salvage surgery for recurrent oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: This study evaluated the prognostic role of Fluorine 18‐fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/CT (18F‐FDG PET/CT) parameters quantitatively measured in patients with recurrent oral cavity cancer. Methods: Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to assess the associations between quantitative 18F‐FDG PET/CT parameters and other clinicopathological factors and progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Results: All of the 18F‐FDG PET parameters (SUVmax, SUVmean, SUVpeak, metabolic tumor volume [MTV], and total lesion glycolysis [TLG]) were significantly associated with poor PFS and OS outcomes after salvage treatment (P < .01). In multivariate analyses, Karnofsky performance score, recurrence site, MTV, and TLG were independent variables predictive of both PFS and OS (P < .05). High MTV (>8.8 mL) or TLG (>29.4 g) values at recurrent lesions were associated with >5‐fold increased risk for tumor progression and mortality after salvage surgery. Conclusions: The PET parameters of MTV and TLG measured at recurrent lesions may predict tumor progression and survival after salvage treatment. This study examined the role of 18F‐FDG PET/CT at recurrent staging for predicting tumor progression and survival in 71 consecutive patients with recurrent oral cavity squamous cell carcinomas. Of 18F‐FDG parameters, metabolic tumor volume and total lesion glycolysis were independent factors predictive of tumor progression and survival after salvage treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]