Prognostic value of positron emission tomography/computed tomography for adjuvant chemotherapy of colon cancer.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: To assess the prognostic value of preoperative 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography in patients with high-risk stage II or stage III colon cancer who underwent FOLFOX chemotherapy. METHODS: The study included 166 patients with high-risk stage II or stage III colon cancer who received FOLFOX4 chemotherapy. Retrospective patient data were analysed including pathological stage, histology, disease-free survival (DFS) and the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax ) of the primary tumour on 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography. The primary end point was DFS. RESULTS: There were recurrences in 29 of the 166 patients (17.4%). Measuring the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, the cut-off value of SUVmax with maximum sensitivity and specificity was 10.95. Using the Kaplan-Meier method, the DFS of the patients categorized by SUVmax tended to differ (P = 0.055). In univariate analyses, the risk factors for DFS were age over 70 years, higher N stage and neural invasion. SUVmax ≤ 10.95 showed a tendency, but was not significant (P = 0.0604). In multivariate analyses, the risk factors for DFS were age over 70 and neural invasion. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that high fluorodeoxyglucose uptake of the primary mass in high-risk stage II and stage III colon cancer does not significantly correlate with DFS.