18F-FDG PET/CT in the clinical-diagnostic workup of patients treated with immunotherapy: when and how?

Annovazzi, Alessio; Ferraresi, Virginia; Rimini, Maria Luisa De; Sciuto, Rosa

doi:10.1007/s40336-022-00514-8

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 17 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In these times of evidence-based medicine, it is crucial for healthcare professionals to be able to rely on medical guidelines and standardized criteria to improve the quality and consistency of patient care.Much effort has gone into standardizing the assessment of response to immunotherapy [23][24][25], and new criteria have been tested in patients with metastatic melanoma or lung cancer. Currently, standard of care for response assessment is clinical assessment and conventional imaging (i.e., CT by using modified RECIST criteria), however, in the present study, we aimed to compare the clinical assessment with metabolic evaluation rather than the morphological one.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

ITA-IMMUNO-PET: The Role of [18F]FDG PET/CT for Assessing Response to Immunotherapy in Patients with Some Solid Tumors

Evangelista

Bianchi

Annovazzi

et al. 2023

Cancers

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

AIM: To examine the role of [18F]FDG PET/CT for assessing response to immunotherapy in patients with some solid tumors. METHODS: Data recorded in a multicenter (n = 17), retrospective database between March and November 2021 were analyzed. The sample included patients with a confirmed diagnosis of a solid tumor who underwent serial [18F]FDG PET/CT (before and after one or more cycles of immunotherapy), who were >18 years of age, and had a follow-up of at least 12 months after their first PET/CT scan. Patients enrolled in clinical trials or without a confirmed diagnosis of cancer were excluded. The authors classified cases as having a complete or partial metabolic response to immunotherapy, or stable or progressive metabolic disease, based on a visual and semiquantitative analysis according to the EORTC criteria. Clinical response to immunotherapy was assessed at much the same time points as the serial PET scans, and both the obtained responses were compared. RESULTS: The study concerned 311 patients (median age: 67; range: 31–89 years) in all. The most common neoplasm was lung cancer (56.9%), followed by malignant melanoma (32.5%). Nivolumab was administered in 46.3%, and pembrolizumab in 40.5% of patients. Baseline PET and a first PET scan performed at a median 3 months after starting immunotherapy were available for all 311 patients, while subsequent PET scans were obtained after a median 6, 12, 16, and 21 months for 199 (64%), 102 (33%), 46 (15%), and 23 (7%) patients, respectively. Clinical response to therapy was recorded at around the same time points after starting immunotherapy for 252 (81%), 173 (56%), 85 (27%), 40 (13%), and 22 (7%) patients, respectively. After a median 18 (1–137) months, 113 (36.3%) patients had died. On Kaplan–Meier analysis, metabolic responders on the first two serial PET scans showed a better prognosis than non-responders, while clinical response became prognostically informative from the second assessment after starting immunotherapy onwards. CONCLUSIONS: [18F]FDG PET/CT could have a role in the assessment of response to immunotherapy in patients with some solid tumors. It can provide prognostic information and thus contribute to a patient’s appropriate treatment. Prospective randomized controlled trials are mandatory.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

ITA-IMMUNO-PET: The Role of [18F]FDG PET/CT for Assessing Response to Immunotherapy in Patients with Some Solid Tumors

Evangelista

Bianchi

Annovazzi

et al. 2023

Cancers

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Ita-immuno-pet: the Role of Fdg Pet/ct for Assessing Response to Immunotherapy

Evangelista

Bianchi

Annovazzi

et al. 2022

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

AIM: to examine the role of FDG PET/CT for assessing response to immunotherapy in patients with solid tumors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: data recorded in a multicenter (n=17), retrospective database between March and November 2021 were analyzed. The sample included patients with a confirmed diagnosis of a solid tumor who underwent serial FDG PET/CT (before and after one or more cycles of immunotherapy), who were >18 years of age, and had a follow-up of at least 12 months after their first PET/CT scan. Patients enrolled in clinical trials or without a confirmed diagnosis of cancer were excluded. The authors classified cases as having a complete or partial metabolic response to immunotherapy, or stable or progressive metabolic disease, based on a visual and semiquantitative analysis according to the EORTC criteria. Clinical response to immunotherapy was assessed at much the same time points as the serial PET images, and the two were compared. RESULTS: The study concerned 311 patients (median age: 67; range: 31-89 years) in all. The most common neoplasm was lung cancer (n=177, 56.9%), followed by malignant melanoma (n=101, 32.5%). Nivolumab was administered in 144 of the former patients (46.3%), and pembrolizumab in 126 of the latter (40.5%). Baseline PET and a first PET scan performed a median 3 months after starting immunotherapy were available for all 311 patients, while subsequent PET scans were obtained after a median 6, 12, 16, and 21 months for 199 (64%), 102 (33%), 46 (15%), and 23 (7%) patients, respectively. Clinical response to therapy was recorded at around the same time points after starting immunotherapy for 252 (81%), 173 (56%), 85 (27%), 40 (13%), and 22 (7%) patients, respectively. At successive time points, the consistency between PET scans and clinical findings was 37%, 54%, 26%, 37%, and 29%, respectively. After a median 18 (1-137) months, 113 (36.3%) patients had died. On Kaplan-Meier analysis, metabolic responders on two or more PET scans after starting immunotherapy had a better prognosis than non-responders (all p<0.001), while clinical response became prognostically informative from the second assessment after starting immunotherapy onwards. CONCLUSIONS: FDG PET/CT should have a role in the assessment of response to immunotherapy in patients with solid tumors. It can provide prognostic information and thus contribute to a patient’s appropriate treatment.

show abstract

18F-FDG PET/CT in the clinical-diagnostic workup of patients treated with immunotherapy: when and how?

Cited by 2 publications

References 17 publications

ITA-IMMUNO-PET: The Role of [18F]FDG PET/CT for Assessing Response to Immunotherapy in Patients with Some Solid Tumors

ITA-IMMUNO-PET: The Role of [18F]FDG PET/CT for Assessing Response to Immunotherapy in Patients with Some Solid Tumors

Ita-immuno-pet: the Role of Fdg Pet/ct for Assessing Response to Immunotherapy

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About