Elsevier

Journal of Thoracic Oncology

Volume 4, Issue 12, December 2009, Pages 1473-1479
Journal of Thoracic Oncology

Original Article
Positron Emission Tomography 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Uptake and Prognosis in Patients with Surgically Treated, Stage I Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review

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Background

18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake holds potential as a noninvasive biomarker in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We aimed to investigate the association between tumor FDG uptake and survival in patients with surgically resected, stage I NSCLC.

Methods

We used systematic methods to identify studies for inclusion, assess methodological quality, and abstract relevant data about study design and results.

Results

Our literature search identified 1578 citations, of which nine retrospective, cross-sectional studies met eligibility criteria. In all studies, higher degrees of FDG uptake in the primary tumor were associated with worse overall or disease free survival after 2 to 5 years of follow-up, but these differences were statistically significant in only five studies. Across studies, the median overall or disease free survival was 70% for patients with higher FDG uptake compared with 88% for patients with lower FDG uptake. In three studies that performed multivariable analysis, the adjusted hazard of death or recurrence was 1.9 to 8.6 times greater in patients with higher FDG uptake.

Conclusion

Current evidence suggests that increasing tumor FDG uptake is associated with worse survival in patients with stage I NSCLC. FDG uptake has the potential to be used as a biomarker for identifying stage I patients who are at increased risk of death or recurrence and therefore could identify candidates for participation in future trials of adjuvant therapy.

Key Words

Systematic review
Stage I
Non-small cell lung cancer
FDG uptake
Standard uptake value
Prognosis
Survival
Outcome

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Disclosure: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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