Postoperative PET/CT and target delineation before adjuvant radiotherapy in patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was for us to present our evaluation of the effectiveness of positron emission tomography (PET)/CT imaging in postoperative patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) before initiating adjuvant radiation therapy. METHODS: Treatment planning PET/CT scans were obtained in 44 patients with oral cavity SCC receiving adjuvant radiation. We identified target areas harboring macroscopic disease requiring higher radiation doses or additional surgery. RESULTS: Fourteen PET/CT scans were abnormal. Thirteen patients underwent surgery and/or biopsy, increased radiation dose, and/or addition of chemotherapy. Eleven patients received higher radiation doses. Patients undergoing imaging >8 weeks were more likely to have abnormal results (p = .01). One-year distant metastases-free survival was significantly worse in patients with positive PET/CT scans (61.5% vs 92.7%; p = .01). The estimated positive predictive value (PPV) was 38% for postoperative PET/CT scanning. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated that 32% of patients have abnormal PET/CT scans resulting in management changes. Patients may benefit from postoperative PET/CT imaging to optimize adjuvant radiation treatment planning. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E1285-E1293, 2016.

publication date

  • September 3, 2015

Research

keywords

  • Carcinoma, Squamous Cell
  • Mouth Neoplasms
  • Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography
  • Radiotherapy, Adjuvant

Identity

PubMed Central ID

  • PMC4927081

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 84949921889

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1002/hed.24213

PubMed ID

  • 26335113

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 38 Suppl 1

issue

  • Suppl 1