Prognostic Potential of Postoperative 18F-Fluorocholine PET/CT in Patients With High-Grade Glioma. Clinical Validation of FuMeGA Postoperative PET Criteria

Abstract

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to assess the prognostic performance of postoperative 18F-fluorocholine PET/CT in patients with high-grade glioma (HGG).MethodsPatients with HGG who underwent preoperative and postoperative 18F-fluorocholine PET/CT were prospectively enrolled in the study. Postoperative MRI was classified as complete versus incomplete resection. Postoperative 18F-fluorocholine PET/CT was classified as negative (complete) or positive for metabolic residual tumor (incomplete resection) using a 5-point score system. The correlation of positive locations on PET/CT with the sites of subsequent tumor recurrence was evaluated. The concordance of postoperative imaging techniques (Cohen κ) and their relation with progression-free survival and overall survival were assessed using Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression analysis.ResultsFifty-one studies, belonging to 47 patients, were assessed. Four patients underwent 2 postoperative 18F-fluorocholine PET/CT scans as they needed a second tumor resection for recurrence. In the follow-up, 42 patients progressed, and 37 died. Concordance between postoperative PET/CT and MRI assessment was poor. Resection grade on MRI did not show any significant association with prognosis. In multivariate analysis, only age and postoperative PET/CT showed significant association with progression-free survival (hazard ratio [HR], 1.03 [1.01–1.06, P = 0.006] and 1.88 [0.96–3.71, P = 0.067], respectively) and overall survival (HR, 1.04 [1.01–1.07, P = 0.004] and 2.63 [1.22–5.68, P = 0.014], respectively). Postoperative positive 18F-fluorocholine PET/CT locations correlated with the sites of subsequent tumor recurrence in 81.82% of cases.ConclusionPostoperative 18F-fluorocholine PET/CT seems superior to postoperative MRI in the outcome prediction of patients with HGG, outperforming it in the identification of the most probable location of tumor recurrence.

PET Criteria by Cancer Type from Imaging Interpretation to Treatment Response Assessment: Beyond FDG PET Score

“…The authors found that postoperative positive [ 18 F]Fluorocholine PET/CT localizations correlated with the sites of tumor recurrence. Furthermore, on preoperative PET/CT, they observed that lesions with higher tracer uptake were followed by higher metabolic residual lesions after surgery [ 48 ].…”