PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Laura-Jane Smith
AU  - Neal Navani
AU  - Paul Bassett
AU  - Irfan Kayani
AU  - Ashley Groves
AU  - Sam Janes
TI  - FDG-PET SUVmax is an independent prognostic indicator in patients with non-small cell lung cancer
DP  - 2011 Sep 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - p2749
VI  - 38
IP  - Suppl 55
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/Suppl_55/p2749.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/Suppl_55/p2749.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2011 Sep 01; 38
AB  - Background: FDG-PET is a commonly used non-invasive tool for diagnosis and staging of lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death.SUVmax has been suggested to be an independent prognostic factor in patients with operable non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).However, PET-CT is not recommended in patients with advanced disease.Aim: Evaluate the utility of SUVmax of the primary lesion as an independent predictor of overall survival in patients with NSCLC, including advanced disease.Methods: Retrospective analysis of 47 patients (29 male, median age 69 years) with NSCLC (stage I 38%, stage II 9%, stage III 34%, stage IV 18%) who underwent FDG-PET at diagnosis.Cox regression analysis was applied to examine the effect of SUVmax on survival.This was then adjusted for stage, treatment, age, sex and histology.Results: There was a significant difference in survival between patients who had a low vs high SUVmax, hazard ratio 3.31 (p=0.006), such that an increase in SUVmax of the primary of 5 points conferred a hazard ratio of 1.49 (p=0.013).This relationship was maintained when multiple factors were adjusted for, with a hazard ratio for an increase in SUVmax of the primary of 5 points of 2.8 (p=0.03).Conclusion: FDG-PET provides additional information about prognosis in NSCLC, independent of stage at presentation.The relationship between SUVmax of the primary and survival is maintained, even in patients with advanced disease.