Objective:To explore the value of 18F-FDG PET/CT in detecting Richter syndrome (RS) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients. Methods:From August 2010 to November 2019, 101 histologically confirmed CLL patients (62 males, 39 females; age (58.0±12.7) years) who underwent PET/CT in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital and the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University were retrospectively included. ROI was drawn and PET/CT images were semi-quantitatively examined by estimating SUV max. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the SUV max of RS and non-RS patients. ROC curve analysis was utilized to analyze the optimal cut-off value of SUV max in detecting RS. Results:RS was histologically confirmed in 27 CLL patients. The SUV max of RS patients was 13.7(11.0, 20.1), which was significantly higher than that of non-RS patients (4.1(3.1, 5.8); z=-6.48, P<0.001). ROC curve analysis identified the optimal cut-off value of SUV max was 10.0 and the AUC was 0.923, with accuracy of 94.1%(95/101), sensitivity of 85.2%(23/27), specificity of 97.3%(72/74), positive predictive value of 92.0%(23/25) and negative predictive value of 94.7%(72/76). Conclusion:As the semi-quantitative index measured by 18F-FDG PET/CT, SUV max can help to diagnose RS and provide important information for clinical use.

Objective:To explore the prognostic role of baseline 18F-FDG PET/CT metabolic parameters for patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS). Methods:From February 2010 to January 2019, 47 PTCL-NOS patients (29 males, 18 females, age: (59.7±13.6) years) from Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital were retrospectively enrolled. Each patient underwent baseline 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging before treatment. The total metabolic tumor volume (TMTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) were computed by using the margin threshold of 41% SUV max. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to evaluate progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Results:Over the follow-up of 5-119 months, 25 patients had disease progression, including 24 deaths. SUV max (hazard ratio ( HR)=8.581, 95% CI: 1.950-37.764, P=0.004), TMTV( HR=9.677, 95% CI: 3.521-26.593, P<0.001), TLG( HR=3.647, 95% CI: 1.245-10.682, P<0.001) and prognostic index for T-cell lymphoma (PIT; HR=4.593, 95% CI: 1.792-11.773, P=0.002) were significant predictors of PFS and OS( HR=8.720, 95% CI: 1.982-83.354, P=0.004; HR=9.325, 95% CI: 3.423-25.408, P<0.001; HR=3.439, 95% CI: 1.170-10.110, P<0.001; HR=4.437, 95% CI: 1.728-11.393, P=0.002). After multivariate analysis, TMTV was the independent predictor of PFS ( HR=4.371, 95% CI: 1.066-16.541, P<0.001) and OS ( HR=4.978, 95% CI: 1.123-21.329, P<0.001). The substratification analysis showed that patients with high TMTV(≥168.3 cm 3) had worse prognosis than those with low TMTV (<168.3 cm 3) for PFS ( χ2=14.60, P<0.001) and OS ( χ2=16.81, P<0.001) in low PIT (0-1) group, while patients with high TMTV had worse prognosis than those with low TMTV for PFS ( χ2=4.09, P=0.043) in high PIT (≥2) group. Conclusions:Baseline PET/CT metabolic parameters including SUV max, TMTV, TLG and PIT are able to predict survival in PTCL-NOS patients. TMTV is the independent predictor of PFS and OS, which can substratify PTCL-NOS patients in PIT group.

Objective:To investigate 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT imaging manifestations and digestive endoscopy of gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma and evaluate whether maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max) can reflect the tumor proliferation activity and diagnose the diffuse large B cell transformation. Methods:18F-FDG PET/CT of 36 untreated histologically confirmed gastric MALT lymphoma patients (19 males, 17 females, age (46.4±18.1) years) between December 2012 and January 2019 in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital were reviewed retrospectively. A positive or negative PET was defined based on visual analysis. 18F-FDG uptake above surrounding tissues in the regions of interest defined by the nuclear physician was considered positive, while negative was definited if the 18F-FDG uptake below surrounding tissues. Types of uptake included focal uptake and diffuse uptake. The characteristic findings of 18F-FDG PET/CT and digestive endoscopy (3 types: chronic gastritis-like type, depressed type and protruding type) in the consecutive patients were evaluated. The region of interest was drawn and the maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max) was measured. One-way analysis of variance and the least siginficant difference t test were used to compare the SUV max of 3 types of lesions and Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of SUV max between lesions with/without diffuse large B cell transformation. The correlation between SUV max and Ki-67 was assessed by Spearman rank correlation analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to calculate the optimal cut-off value for the diagnosis of diffuse large B cell transformation. Results:Positive 18F-FDG PET/CT were found in 15 patients and the diagnostic accuracy was 41.7%(15/36). 18F-FDG uptake results were positive for all protruding tumors (5/5) mainly with focal uptake (4/5), but only 4/16 for chronic gastritis-like type tumors and 6/15 for depressed type tumors. SUV max of protruding type tumors (10.7±6.4) was significantly higher than chronic gastritis-like type tumors (2.1±0.8) and depressed type tumors (2.7±1.4; F=13.010, all P<0.05). SUV max (2.7(1.8, 5.0)) was associated with Ki-67 (10%(15%, 40%); rs=0.345, P=0.039). SUV max of tumors with diffuse large B cell transformation in 36 patients was significantly higher than that with no transformation (9.4(3.1, 14.8) vs 2.3(1.7, 3.9); z=-3.044, P=0.002), and the cut-off value of SUV max was 6.5 (area under the curve: 0.788, P=0.011). Conclusions:18F-FDG PET may be a useful method for evaluating protruding type gastric MALT lymphoma but not appropriate for chronic gastritis-like type or depressed type tumors. SUV max may be a useful biomarker for tumor proliferation activity and can be used for diffuse large B cell transformation diagnosis in gastric MALT lymphoma patients.

Objective:To assess the prognostic value of pretreatment 18F-FDG PET/CT metabolic parameters in patients with primary melanoma. Methods:A retrospective analysis comprised of 35 patients (21 males, 14 females, age: 35-85 years; from January 2014 to August 2019; Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School) who were newly-diagnosed primary melanoma with preoperative 18F-FDG PET/CT was conducted. 18F-FDG PET/CT metabolic parameters including SUV max, SUV mean, peak of SUV (SUV peak) were obtained. Metabolic tumor volume (MTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) of primary focus were measured automatically using the threshold of 40%SUV max. The optimal thresholds of PET parameters were obtained by using ROC curve analysis. The associations between melanoma-specific survival (MSS), progression-free survival (PFS) and PET/CT metabolic parameters were assessed using Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards model. Results:The median follow-up was 15.4 months, and 20 patients showed disease progression and 7 died. The cut-off values for SUV max, SUV mean, SUV peak, MTV and TLG were 3.95, 2.45, 2.65, 3.60 cm 3 and 14.85 g, respectively (AUCs: 0.742, 0.790, 0.728, 0.655, 0.693; P values: 0.016, 0.004, 0.022, 0.121, 0.053). Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test showed that SUV max, SUV mean, SUV peak, MTV and TLG were predictors of PFS ( χ2 values: 4.06-8.35, all P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that MTV (hazard ratio ( HR)=3.09, 95% CI: 1.08-8.86, P=0.036) and TLG ( HR=3.36, 95% CI: 1.11-10.14, P=0.031) were significant predictors of PFS but not for MSS ( HR=5.14, P=0.080). Conclusions:SUV max, SUV mean and SUV peak of primary focus may help for predicting PFS of patients with primary melanoma. MTV and TLG of primary focus may be the best to predict PFS of primary melanoma.

Objective:To investigate the characteristic findings of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT in patients with adult-onset Still′s disease (AOSD) and the correlation between the maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max) and clinical disease activity score as well as laboratory data. Methods:Twenty-two patients (6 males, 16 females, age range: 19-73 (41.5±16.3) years) with AOSD according to criteria set by Yamaguchi between May 2015 and June 2018 in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital were recruited in the retrospective study. The characteristic findings of 18F-FDG PET/CT in the consecutive AOSD patients were evaluated. The correlation between SUV max and clinical disease activity score as well as laboratory data was assessed with Spearman rank correlation analysis. Results:PET/CT results contributed to the diagnosis of AOSD in all the 22 patients (100%). The accumulation of 18F-FDG was showed in lymph nodes of 21 patients(95.5%), and the spleen and bone marrow uptake were observed in all the 22 patients (100%). Besides, 18F-FDG uptake was found in shoulder joint ( n=6, 27.3%), submaxillary glands ( n=9, 40.9%) and parotid glands ( n=7, 31.8%). The SUV max of lymph nodes were significantly correlated with the C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) ( r s values: 0.622, 0.538, both P<0.05). The SUV max of spleen was significantly correlated with CRP and ESR levels ( r s values: 0.543, 0.475, both P<0.05). The SUV max of bone marrow was significantly correlated with the level of CRP and neutrophils(%) ( r s values: 0.497, 0.431, both P<0.05). However, there was no correlation between the SUV max and clinical disease activity score ( r s values: 0.008, 0.102, 0.210, all P>0.05). Conclusions:Characteristics findings of 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging can provide useful information for differential diagnosis as well as extent assessment for AOSD, and play an important role in the diagnosis process of AOSD. 18F-FDG PET/CT scan may be a helpful imaging technique for evaluation of disease activity in patients with AOSD but prospective study with large cohort of individuals are needed.

Objective:To explore the potential value of interim 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT combined with B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2)/MYC protein dual expression (DE) status in the prognostic stratification for patients with primary gastrointestinal diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (PGI-DLBCL). Methods:Forty-six patients (21 males, 25 females; age 20-83 years) with newly diagnosed PGI-DLBCL from June 2012 to May 2019 in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital were enrolled in this retrospective study. Immunohistochemistry for Bcl-2 and MYC protein expression was performed. All patients underwent baseline and interim (after 2-4 cycles of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone, and rituximab (R-CHOP) regimen) 18F-FDG PET/CT scans for assessment. Interim 18F-FDG PET/CT results were determined based on Deauville 5-point scale (DS) and changing rate of maximum standardized uptake value (ΔSUV max%) in 18F-FDG PET/CT images. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, Cox proportional hazards regression model (single factor, multiple factors analysis) were used to analyze the prognosis (3-year progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates). Results:Patients were followed up for 6-84 months, and 14 showed disease progression and 9 died. The PFS rate and OS rate were 69.6% and 80.4%, respectively. DE, DS as well as ΔSUV max% were significant predictors of PFS (hazard ratio ( HR) values: 3.280, 5.120, 9.167, all P<0.05); lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), MYC protein expression, DS and ΔSUV max% were significant predictors of OS ( HR values: 4.091, 9.618, 7.697, 11.151, all P<0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that DS and ΔSUV max% were independent predictors of PFS and OS ( HR values: 4.370-9.244, all P<0.05). In the DS negative (-) group, patients with DE positive (+ ) had lower PFS and OS rates than those with DE- (PFS rate: 50.0% vs 88.9%; OS rate: 66.7% vs 96.3%; χ2 values: 6.050, 4.966, both P<0.05). In ΔSUV max%<90% group, patients with DE+ had lower PFS rate than those with DE- (12.5% vs 68.8%; χ2=6.649, P=0.01). Conclusions:Interim PET/CT analysis using DS and ΔSUV max% is able to predict survival in PGI-DLBCL patients. The combination of DS, ΔSUV max% and DE can risk-stratify PGI-DLBCL patient more effectively.

Objective:To assess the prognostic value of pretreatment 18F-FDG PET/CT metabolic parameters in patients with metastatic malignant melanoma treated with anti-programmed cell death-1 (PD1) immunotherapy. Methods:A retrospective analysis of 29 patients (15 males, 14 females, age (59.1±13.0) years) with pathologically diagnosed metastatic malignant melanoma in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital between June 2017 and October 2020 was conducted. Anti-PD1 immunotherapy were performed in all patients after 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging. 18F-FDG PET/CT parameters including SUV max, bone marrow-to-liver SUV max ratio (BLR), spleen-to-liver SUV max ratio (SLR) were obtained. Total metabolic tumor volume (TMTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) of primary lesions were measured automatically using the thresholds of 40%SUV max. The median value of each PET parameter was regarded as the threshold value and was used to divide patients into 2 groups (≥ and < the median value, respectively). Kaplan-Meier survival curve and Cox proportional risk model were used to analyze the overall survival (OS) differences between groups. Results:The median follow-up time was 15.0 months and 13 patients died. The median OS was 26.0(95% CI: 20.4-31.6) months. The median SUV max, TMTV, TLG, BLR and SLR were 6.2, 8.2 cm 3, 38.6 g, 0.82 and 0.84 respectively. Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test showed that differences of OS between SUV max≥6.2 and <6.2 groups, TLG≥38.6 g and <38.6 g groups, BLR≥0.82 and <0.82 groups, SLR≥0.84 and <0.84 groups were not significant ( χ2 values: 0.01-0.35, P values: 0.061-0.929), while patients with TMTV≥8.2 cm 3 suffered from poorer OS compared with those with TMTV<8.2 cm 3 ( χ2=5.90, P=0.015). Cox multivariate analysis showed that TMTV (hazard risk ( HR)=6.347, 95% CI: 1.039-38.789) was a significant predictor of OS ( P=0.045). Conclusion:18F-FDG PET/CT parameter TMTV is the independent predictive factor of OS in metastatic melanoma treated with anti-PD1 immunotherapy.

Objective:To investigate the prognostic value of metabolic parameters measured by 18F-FDG PET/CT in patients with primary advanced cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM). Methods:A retrospective analysis was comprised of 42 patients with advanced CMM (15 males and 27 females; median age: 60.0 years) from Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School between June 2014 and December 2019. All patients were initially diagnosed by pathology, and underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging. 18F-FDG PET/CT parameters including SUV max, SUV mean, total metabolic tumor volume (TMTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) of metastatic lesions were measured. ROC curve analysis was performed to obtain the optimal cut-off values of those metabolic parameters for predicting progression-free survival (PFS) and over-all survival (OS). Patients were divided into different groups based on their metabolic parameters (≥cut-off values or

Objective:To explore whether baseline PET metabolic parameters combined with B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2)/cellular-myelocytomatosis viral oncogene (c-Myc) dual expression (DE) can improve the prognostic stratification of patients with primary gastrointestinal diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (PGI-DLBCL).Methods:From March 2011 to November 2019, 74 patients (33 males, 41 females; age: 20-87 years) pathologically diagnosed with PGI-DLBCL prior to treatment in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School and the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University were retrospectively included. Baseline PET/CT scans were calculated automatically using the boundaries of voxels presenting a SUV max≥2.5, and metabolic tumor volume (MTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) were determined. Expressions of Bcl-2 and c-Myc were detected at protein levels by immunohistochemistry (IHC). A predicting model comprised of MTV and DE was constructed and patients were divided into 3 groups, including low-risk group (low MTV and non-DE), mediate-risk group (high MTV or DE) and high-risk group (high MTV and DE). The distributions of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank test and Cox proportional hazards model. Results:Of 74 patients, 20 relapsed or progressed, 13 died, and 29.7%(22/74) patients were DE positive. Multivariate analysis revealed that MTV (hazard ratio ( HR)=9.110, 95% CI: 1.429-18.615, P=0.012) and DE ( HR=9.837, 95% CI: 1.690-57.260, P=0.011) were independent predictors of PFS, while MTV ( HR=12.470, 95% CI: 3.356-46.336, P<0.001) was the only independent predictor of OS. In the predicting model for PFS, low-risk group ( n=42) and mediate-risk group ( n=20) exhibited significant difference ( χ2=7.84, P=0.005), and mediate-risk group and high-risk group ( n=12) also exhibited significant difference ( χ2=18.72, P<0.001). Conclusions:MTV and DE can independently predict PFS of patients with PGI-DLBCL, and MTV can independently predict OS. The predicting model for PFS combining MTV with DE may further improve the ability of clinicians to stratify patients in terms of differential prognoses.