Abstract 371P
Background
Head and neck cancers (HNCs) are a challenging disease to treat due to their anatomical complexity and high propensity for locoregional recurrence. Radiation therapy is a crucial component of treatment approach for HNCs. However, assessing the response to therapy can be difficult, particularly in the early post-treatment period. Positron emission tomography (PET) with the glucose analogue [18F] fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) has shown promising results in the assessment of treatment response in HNCs. Therefore, this systematic review is written to evaluate the role of FDG-PET/CT in the assessment of response to radiotherapy in HNCs.
Methods
A comprehensive search of electronic databases was conducted, including EMBASE, Scopus, Pubmed, PMC, and Science Direct from inception to April 2023. Studies were included if they reported on the use of FDG-PET/CT for assessing treatment response in HNCs treated with radiation therapy. Quality assessment using Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and data extraction were performed independently by three reviewers.
Results
16 studies reporting on a total of 348 patients were included in this analysis. The data assessed in the included studies were diverse, including the evaluation of the diagnostic performance of FDG-PET/CT, the comparison with conventional imaging techniques, the ability to avoid neck dissections, or assessed which patient population would derive most benefit from post-treatment FDG-PET/CT scan. Despite their diversity, almost all studies have showed that FDG-PET/CT scan is a reliable method to evaluate residual or recurrent tumour within 6 months post-(chemo)radiation therapy with pooled sensitivity of 84% and pooled specificity of 90%. There was a moderate risk of bias due to selection bias. Also, confirmation of positive nodal disease at the time of diagnosis and prior to therapy is an important shortcoming in most included studies.
Conclusions
FDG-PET/CT within 6 months after (chemo)radiotherapy in HNCs patients is a reliable method for ruling out residual/recurrent nodal disease and obviates the need for therapeutic intervention. However, further standardization of the PET technique is required.
Clinical trial identification
Editorial acknowledgement
Legal entity responsible for the study
The authors.
Funding
Has not received any funding.
Disclosure
All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
Resources from the same session
238P - Enfortumab-vedotin for metastatic urothelial carcinoma refractory to platinum-based chemotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors: A single institution experience
Presenter: Yuki Endo
Session: Poster Display
Resources:
Abstract
239P - Elevated baseline C-reactive protein is a prognostic indicator for OS in patients with metastatic non clear cell renal cell carcinoma treated with systemic therapy
Presenter: Ryuichi Mizuno
Session: Poster Display
Resources:
Abstract
240P - Efficacy and safety of first-line combination therapy with ipilimumab + nivolumab for metastatic renal cell carcinoma in a single institution in Japan
Presenter: Naoya Nagaya
Session: Poster Display
Resources:
Abstract
241P - First-line cabozantinib in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC): A real-world exploratory study from eastern India
Presenter: Tamojit Chaudhuri
Session: Poster Display
Resources:
Abstract
244P - Clinicopathologic feature and treatment outcome of metastatic non clear cell kidney cancer: A single centre experience from India
Presenter: Somnath Roy
Session: Poster Display
Resources:
Abstract
245P - The role of TGF-β in the formation of the protumor phenotype of circulating neutrophils at different stages of renal cancer
Presenter: Ilseya Myagdieva
Session: Poster Display
Resources:
Abstract
246P - Impact of renal impairment on first-line treatment in metastatic urothelial cancer
Presenter: Stephanie Wakeling
Session: Poster Display
Resources:
Abstract
247P - Adjuvant chemoradiotherapy in the management of bladder adenocarcinoma compared to multiple treatment modalities
Presenter: Othman Mohammed
Session: Poster Display
Resources:
Abstract
248P - Screening zinc homeostasis-related genes identifies metallothionein 1H (MT1H) as a potential prognostic biomarker in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC)
Presenter: Eyad Al Masoud
Session: Poster Display
Resources:
Abstract
249P - The prognostic utility of Progestogen associated Endometrial protein (PAEP) gene expression in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC)
Presenter: Leen Lataifeh
Session: Poster Display
Resources:
Abstract