Prognostic Value of 2-Deoxy-2-[F-18]Fluoro-D-Glucose Positron Emission Tomography Imaging for Patients with Prostate Cancer

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of measuring glucose metabolism of primary prostate cancer lesions, using 2-Deoxy-2-[F-18]Fluoro-D-Glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET). Procedures: Forty-two patients with prostate cancer were investigated with FDG-PET, and standardized uptake value (SUV) of the prostate was calculated. After PET study, radical prostatectomy was performed in 17 patients (RPT group), and endocrine therapy in 25 patients (ET group). Relapse-free survival curves were created by the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: In the RPT group, the patients with high SUV had a poorer prognosis compared to those with low SUV (P = 0.033). In the ET group, the patients with high SUV were likely to have a poorer prognosis with low significance at a level of P = 0.087. Conclusions: FDG-PET appeared to have a defined prognostic value for patients with prostate cancer undergoing radical prostatectomy, and more patients need to be studied for patients undergoing endocrine therapy. (Mol Imag Biol 2002;4:99–104)