Pretreatment maximum standardized uptake value of (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography as a predictor of distant metastasis in adenoid cystic carcinoma of the head and neck.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of the primary tumor on pretreatment (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography ((18)F-FDG PET) has prognostic significance in patients with adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) of the head and neck. A retrospective review was carried out on 34 patients with ACC of the head and neck who underwent pretreatment (18)F-FDG PET imaging from June 2005 through July 2009. All patients underwent surgery with curative intent, and 26 of them received adjuvant radiotherapy (RT). When subjects were stratified into 2 groups according to a cutoff value for SUVmax of 4.15, the risk of distant metastasis was significantly high in patients with high SUVmax (p = .014). Multivariate analysis showed that high SUVmax and histologic grade 3 were independent poor prognostic factors for distant metastasis-free and disease-free survival. Pretreatment SUVmax of the primary tumor is an independent prognostic factor in patients with ACC of the head and neck.