Impact of Metabolic Parameters of ¹⁸F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron-emission Tomography After Hepatic Resection in Patients With Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to identify the prognostic impact of metabolic parameters of ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron-emission tomography (PET) in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHCC) undergoing hepatic resection. Patients and Methods: Twenty-four patients with IHCC who underwent surgical resection were enrolled and ¹⁸F-FDG PET parameters maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), metabolic tumor volume (MTV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) were measured, as well as overall and recurrence-free survival. Results: High TLG was significantly associated with large tumor size and high carbohydrate antigen 19-9 level. Patients with high SUVmax, high MTV or high TLG had a significantly worse prognosis regarding both overall and recurrence-free survival than those with low SUVmax, low MTV and low TLG, respectively. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis identified that high TLG significantly influenced both overall and recurrence-free survival. Conclusion: Preoperative assessment of TLG by ¹⁸F-FDG PET might be a useful prognostic predictor after hepatic resection in patients with IHCC.