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
320P - Treatment patterns and outcomes in Indian patients with advanced ovarian cancer: A single center experience
Presenter: Pushpendra Hirapara
Session: Poster Display
Resources:
Abstract
321P - Epidemiology and survival analysis of epithelial ovarian cancer: Results from comprehensive care center in north India
Presenter: Amit Badola
Session: Poster Display
Resources:
Abstract
322P - Evaluation of chemotherapy response score as a prognostic factor in advanced epithelial ovarian cancer: A prospective single centre study
Presenter: Upasana Palo
Session: Poster Display
Resources:
Abstract
323P - Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio as prognostic biomarkers in ovarian cancer among the Asian population: A meta-analysis
Presenter: Wikania Wira Wiguna I Gede
Session: Poster Display
Resources:
Abstract
324P - All-<italic>trans</italic> retinoic acid sensitizes ovarian cancer to niraparib by inhibiting ALDH1A1 activity
Presenter: Bingjie Mei
Session: Poster Display
Resources:
Abstract
325TiP - A phase III randomized controlled trial in primary stage three and four ovarian cancer after interval cytoreductive surgery (FOCUS/KOV-HIPEC-04)
Presenter: Myong Cheol Lim
Session: Poster Display
Resources:
Abstract
327TiP - A single arm phase II study of single agent pemetrexed in platinum resistant/refractory epithelial ovarian or primary peritoneal cancer
Presenter: Swasthik Parampalli
Session: Poster Display
Resources:
Abstract
337P - Demographic patterns and survival outcomes of patients with T and NK-cell lymphoma at the National Cancer Centre Singapore
Presenter: Mohamed Haniffa Bin Hasan Mohamed
Session: Poster Display
Resources:
Abstract
338P - Multicenter real-world study of advanced-stage non-nasal type NK/T cell lymphoma (NKTCL): Clinical features, treatment and prognosis
Presenter: Yuce Wei
Session: Poster Display
Resources:
Abstract
339P - A comparison of survival of patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation or receiving CAR-T therapy
Presenter: Kenta Hayashino
Session: Poster Display
Resources:
Abstract