• Hao Zhang, Kristen Wroblewski, Daniel Appelbaum, and Yonglin Pu.
• Department of Radiology, First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, 730000, China.
• Int J Comput Assist Radiol Surg. 2013 Mar 1; 8 (2): 181-91.

PurposeTo determine whether whole-body metabolic tumor burden, measured as either metabolic tumor volume (MTVWB) or total lesion glycolysis (TLGWB), using FDG-PET/CT is an independent prognostic marker in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Methods328 patients with histologically proven NSCLC were identified for this retrospective analysis. This study was approved by our Institutional Review Board. All patients underwent baseline (18)F-FDG-PET/CT scan imaging before therapy. The MTVWB, TLGWB, maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmaxWB) and mean standardized uptake value (SUVmeanWB) of tumors throughout the whole body were measured from FDG-PET images with semi-automated 3D contouring software.ResultsIn univariate analysis, there was a statistically significant association of overall survival (OS) with the MTVWB (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.62, p < 0.001), TLGWB (HR = 1.47, p < 0.001). The patients with a MTVWB ≤ median of 65.7 ml and TLGWB ≤ median of 205.11 SUVmean * ml had a median OS of 41.1 and 35.4 months compared with 9.5 and 9.7 months for those with a MTVWB > 65.7 ml and TLGWB > 205.11 SUVmean * ml, respectively. From a series of multivariate Cox regression models, the MTVWB and TLGWB were significantly better than SUVmaxWB and SUVmeanWB at prognostication and significantly associated with patients' OS with HRs of 1.50 (p < 0.001) and 1.42 (p < 0.001), respectively, after adjustment for patient's age, gender and treatment intent as well as the tumor SUVmaxWB, histology and stage.ConclusionsMTVWB and TLGWB as metabolic tumor burden measurements in (18)F-FDG-PET/CT are independent prognostic markers and are significantly better than SUVmaxWB and SUVmeanWB at prognostication.

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