Abstract
PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of metabolic tumor volume (MTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG), which are volume-based PET parameters, using (18)F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ((18)F-FDG PET/CT) in patients with surgically resectable lung adenocarcinoma. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated 149 patients with lung adenocarcinoma who underwent (18)F-FDG PET/CT before surgical resection. Maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), MTV, and TLG of the primary tumor with threshold value of SUVmax 30, 40, and 50% were calculated, respectively. To compare the predictive performance of volume-based PET parameters, recurrence-free survival was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: The study included 70 males and 79 females with an average age of 65.8 years. The median follow-up time was 45.4 months. Recurrence was observed in 53 patients (35.6%). The mean ± SD SUVmax, MTV(30%), and TLG(30%) of the entire cohort were 4.79 ± 2.94, 19.45 ± 24.85, and 56.43 ± 101.88, respectively. The cut-off values of MTV(30%) and TLG(30%) for recurrence were 11.07 ad 30.56, respectively. The 1-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) rate was 96.5% in low-MTV(30%) patients compared with 86.2% in high-MTV(30%) patients (p = 0.018) and 96.0% in low-TLG(30%) patients compared with 88.5% in high-TLG(30%) patients (p < 0.001). On univariate and multivariate analysis, TLG(30%) (HR, 2.828, p < 0.001; HR, 2.738, p < 0.001, respectively) was an independent prognostic factor for predicting recurrence-free survival (RFS). CONCLUSION: TLG(30%) value was observed to be a significant prognostic factor for RFS in patients with lung adenocarcinoma treated by surgical resection.