Purpose We evaluated the prognostic value of baseline total metabolic tumor volume (TMTV) measured using pretreatment FDG PET for patients with transformation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) into diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Methods A total of 28 patients with transformation of CLL into DLBCL who had undergone FDG PET before treatment were retrospectively reviewed. Univariate and multivariate analysis of conventional clinicopathologic variables (sex, age, World Health Organization performance status score, International Prognostic Index score, Binet stage, lactate dehydrogenase serum level [LDH], platelet count, presence or not of prior therapies for CLL, the time from CLL to Richter syndrome, Ann Arbor stage, Bulky or not) and metabolic parameters (SUVmax, SUVmean, TMTV, and total lesion glycolysis) at the time of the transformation of CLL into DLBCL were tested for overall survival (OS). Results Of the 28 patients, 14 patients (50%) died during the follow-up period. Low platelet count, World Health Organization performance status score >1, high LDH, and high TMTV were found to be significant prognostic factors for OS on univariate analysis. The 5-year estimates of OS were 63% in the low metabolic burden group (TMTV ≤1200 cm3) and 0% in the high metabolic burden group (TMTV >1200 cm3). Multivariate analysis revealed that only high LDH was a significant predictor after adjustment for other variables of OS. Conclusions TMTV extracted from FDG PET at the time of the transformation of CLL into DLBCL is a predictor of OS.

IMPORTANCEHead and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) represents the seventh most frequent cancer worldwide. More than half of the patients diagnosed with HNSCC are treated with primary surgery.OBJECTIVE To report the available evidence on the value of quantitative parameters of fluorodeoxyglucose F 18-labeled positron emission tomography and computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) performed before surgical treatment of HNSCC to estimate overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and distant metastasis (DM) and to discuss their limitations.EVIDENCE REVIEW A systematic review of the English-language literature in PubMed/MEDLINE and ScienceDirect published between January 2003 and February 15, 2019, was performed between March 1 and July 27, 2019, to identify articles addressing the association between preoperative FDG-PET/CT parameters and oncological outcomes among patients with HNSCC. Articles included those that addressed the following: (1) cancer of the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx, or larynx; (2) surgically treated (primary or for salvage);(3) pretreatment FDG-PET/CT; (4) quantitative or semiquantitative evaluation of the FDG-PET/CT parameters; and (5) the association between the value of FDG-PET/CT parameters and clinical outcomes. Quality assessment was performed using the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine level of evidence. FINDINGS A total of 128 studies were retrieved from the databases, and 36 studies met the inclusion criteria; these studies comprised 3585 unique patients with a median follow-up of 30.6 months (range, 16-53 months). Of these 36 studies, 32 showed an association between at least 1 FDG-PET/CT parameter and oncological outcomes (OS, DFS, and DM). The FDG-PET/CT volumetric parameters (metabolic tumor volume [MTV] and total lesion glycolysis [TLG]) were independent prognostic factors in most of the data, with a higher prognostic value than the maximum standard uptake value (SUVmax). For example, in univariate analysis of OS, the SUVmax was correlated with OS in 5 of 11 studies, MTV in 11 of 12 studies, and TLG in 6 of 9 studies. The spatial distribution of metabolism via textural indices seemed promising, although that factor is currently poorly evaluated: only 3 studies analyzed data from radiomics indices. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCEThe findings of this study suggest that the prognostic effectiveness of FDG-PET/CT parameters as biomarkers of OS, DFS, and DM among patients with HNSCC treated with surgery may be valuable. The volumetric parameters (MTV and TLG) seemed relevant for identifying patients with a higher risk of postsurgical disease progression who could receive early therapeutic intervention to improve their prognosis. However, further large-scale studies including exclusively surgery-treated patients stratified according to localization and further analysis of the textural indices are required to define a reliable FDG-PET/CT-based prognostic model of mortality and recurrence risk for these patients.

FDG uptake decreased significantly but moderately after TCZ therapy in PMR patients, and might reflect disease activity.

Background: Overall, 40% of patients with a locally advanced head and neck cancer (LAHNC) treated by chemoradiotherapy (CRT) present local recurrence within 2 years after the treatment. The aims of this study were to characterize voxel-wise the sub-regions where tumor recurrence appear and to predict their location from pre-treatment 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) images. Materials and methods: Twenty-six patients with local failure after treatment were included in this study. Local recurrence volume was identified by co-registering pre-treatment and recurrent PET/CT images using a customized rigid registration algorithm. A large set of voxel-wise features were extracted from pre-treatment PET to train a random forest model allowing to predict local recurrence at the voxel level. Results: Out of 26 expert-assessed registrations, 15 provided enough accuracy to identify recurrence volumes and were included for further analysis. Recurrence volume represented on average 23% of the initial tumor volume. The MTV with a threshold of 50% of SUVmax plus a 3D margin of 10 mm covered on average 89.8% of the recurrence and 96.9% of the initial tumor. SUV and MTV alone were not sufficient to identify the area of recurrence. Using a random forest model, 15 parameters, combining radiomics and spatial location, were identified, allowing to predict the recurrence sub-regions with a median area under the receiver operating curve of 0.71 (range 0.14-0.91). Conclusion: As opposed to regional comparisons which do not bring enough evidence for accurate prediction of recurrence volume, a voxel-wise analysis of FDG-uptake features suggested a potential to predict recurrence with enough accuracy to consider tailoring CRT by dose escalation within likely radioresistant regions.