OBJECTIVETo determine the predictive value of interim and end-of-treatment ¹⁸F-FDG PET-CT after first-line treatment in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL).

METHODSThe clinical data of 50 newly diagnosed HL patients were retrospectively analyzed. Baseline, interim and end-of-treatment PET-CT were performed, and then imaging results were analyzed for the survival of patients via software SPSS 13.0.

RESULTSFifty patients received first-line treatment with ABVD (doxorubicin + bleomycin + vincristine + dacarbazine) or BEACOPP (bleomycin + etoposide + doxorubicin + cyclophosphamide + vincristine + procarbazine+ prednisone) regimen. Interim PET-CT of 35 patients were performed after 2-4 cycles of treatment, 46 patients received PET-CT scans at the end of treatment. After a median follow-up of 29.4 months (12.2-52.4 months), the 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 100% and 70% for the interim PET-CT negative (n=25) and positive (n=10) patients, respectively (P=0.004). The 3-year PFS rates were 100% and 60% for the post-treatment PET-CT negative (n=36) and positive (n=10) patients, respectively (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONInterim and end-of-treatment PET-CT were correlated with 3-year PFS rates for HL patients. They may play an important role in predicting the outcome of HL. The relationship with OS can not be determined because of the short follow-up time.