Outcome Prediction After Surgery and Chemoradiation of Squamous Cell Carcinoma in the Oral Cavity, Oropharynx, and Hypopharynx: Use of Baseline Perfusion CT Microcirculatory Parameters vs. Tumor Volume

Perfusion CT in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Upper Aerodigestive Tract: Long-Term Predictive Value of Baseline Perfusion CT Measurements

“…These results add to the initial evidence in the study of Bisdas et al, 13 who also demonstrated high BF values in patients without recurrence in a shorter follow-up period. What is more, BF values showed moderate but significant predictive value for local tumor control.…”

“…Both results are in concordance with the initial evidence in the study of Bisdas et al in a smaller patient group. 13 With results similar to ours, the study by Zima et al 10 supported a higher PS as a predictor of good response to induction chemotherapy in head and neck cancer. PS values are supposed to reflect neoangiogenesis and microvascular attenuation.…”

“…21 Tissue perfusion, typically described in terms of mean values within freehand regions of interest, may present spatial and temporal changes, which may be masked by the mean values. A recent study tried to overcome this pitfall by measuring maximal perfusion values, 13 which, however, are not validated for their reproducibility like the standardized uptake values in PET/CT and may differ among the software packages. In the present study, we adopted visual inspection as a means of tumor-aggressiveness classification.…”

“…This may be the reason that the correlation of MTT with outcome is not consistent in the literature. 9,13 Except for tumor perfusion, T stage is an important parameter of local tumor control in head and neck cancer. In our work, T stage was marginally significant for predicting local outcome.…”

“…11,12 A recent study also reported the significant predictive value of PCT studies in a small patient population treated with surgery and adjuvant chemoradiation. 13 However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no large-scale study examining the longterm predictive value of baseline PCT studies in patients treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiation or chemoradiation with curative intent.…”