The Korean Journal of Hepatology  2004;10(4):279-287

Positron Emission Tomography with Fluorine-18-Fluorodeoxyglucose is Useful for Predicting the Prognosis of Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Yun Ho KONG 1 ; Chul Ju HAN ; Sang Dae LEE ; Wee Sik SOHN ; Min Jae KIM ; Seung Seog KI ; Jin KIM ; Sook Hyang JEONG ; You Cheoul KIM ; Jhin Oh LEE ; Gi Jeong CHEON ; Chang Woon CHOI ; Sang Moo LIM

Affiliations

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Keywords

Hepatocellular carcinoma; Positron emission tomography; Prognosis

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

Korean

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is heterogenous in terms of its glucose metabolism. Positron emission tomography with fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG-PET) shows various levels of FDG uptake for patients with HCC. This study was designed to assess the usefulness of FDG-PET for predicting the outcome of the patients with HCC. METHODS: FDG-PET was performed for 27 patients with HCC. The standardized uptake value (SUV) and SUV ratio (defined as the tumor-to-nontumor ratio of SUV) was calculated for each patient. The clinical factors of the outcome were analyzed by regression analysis using Cox's multivariate proportional hazard model. The survival rate was calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: Among the analyzed clinical factors including tumor size, number of tumors, AFP, involvement of major vessels, presence of systemic metastases, Child-Pugh class the SUV and SUV ratio, only the SUV was the only significant independent prognostic factor (p=0.001). On the basis of the SUV, the patients were divided into two groups of roughly equal size: group A, SUV of <7; group B, SUV >or=7. The cumulative survival rate was significantly lower for group B than for group A, and the median survival time was significantly different (4 months vs 15 months, respectively) (p=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that FDG-PET is useful to predict the outcome for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.