High SUV uptake on FDG–PET/CT predicts for an aggressive B-cell lymphoma in a prospective study of primary FDG–PET/CT staging in lymphoma

BackgroundData assessing the role of positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) imaging in lymphoma staging is still being accumulated and current staging is based primarily on CT. This study aims to compare the value of PET/CT over conventional CT and bone marrow biopsy (BMB) in the initial evaluation of patients with lymphoma.MethodsData on 122 patients with PET/CT scans as part of their initial staging were prospectively collected and reviewed. All patients had complete staging, including BMB.ResultsAmong the 122 patients, 101 had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and 21 had Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL). Compared with conventional CT, PET/CT upstaged 21 (17%) cases [B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (B-NHL), 12; T-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (T-NHL), 3; HL, 6]. Of significance, in 13 patients with 2-[fluorine-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG)-avid splenic lesions, four had normal CT findings. A maximum FDG uptake of >10 standardized uptake value (SUV) seems to significantly correlate with an aggressive B-cell lineage (odds ratio 2.47, 95% confidence interval 2.23–2.70). Overall, PET scan was concordant with BMB results in 108 (89%) and discordant in 14 (11%) cases. In HL, our data show that PET scan and marrow results agreed in 19 of the cases (90%), being concordantly negative in 18 cases and concordantly positive in one, giving a negative predictive value (NPV) of 100%, sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 90%. Of note, all 13 with early-stage HL had negative PET/CT scan and BMB. In NHL, all 17 cases of T-NHL had concordant PET and BMB results. In patients with aggressive B-NHL, BMB and PET/CT agreed in 58 patients (92%) and disagreed in five (8%), while the corresponding rates in indolent B-cell lymphoma were 14 (67%) and seven patients (33%), respectively. All seven were falsely negative.ConclusionsPET/CT upstages 17% of cases and detects occult splenic involvement. This may have potential therapeutic and prognostic implications. SUV >10 may predict for an aggressive histology. Except for indolent B-NHL, our data show that PET scans have a good overall NPV in excluding lymphomatous bone marrow involvement. This is particularly true of early-stage HL, suggesting that BMB may be safely omitted in this group.     

The value of bone marrow biopsy for staging of patients with primary CNS lymphoma

BackgroundIn patients with presumed primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL), a systemic manifestation is found only in a small minority. Although bone marrow biopsy (BMB) is recommended for staging, its diagnostic value is unclear.MethodsA retrospective analysis of 392 patients with presumed PCNSL from 3 university hospitals and 33 patients with secondary CNS lymphoma (SCNSL) and initial CNS involvement from a multicenter Germany-wide prospective registry was performed.ResultsA BMB was performed and documented in 320/392 patients with presumed PCNSL; 23 had pathologic results. One harbored the same lymphoma in the brain and bone marrow (BM), 22 showed findings in BM discordant to the histology of brain lymphoma; n = 12 harbored a low-grade lymphoma in the BM, the other showed B-cell proliferation but no proof of lymphoma (n = 5), monoclonal B cells (n = 3), or abnormalities not B-cell-associated (n = 2). In the group of SCNSL with initial CNS manifestation, 32/33 patients underwent BMB; 7 were documented with bone marrow involvement (BMI); 1 had concordant results in the brain and BM with no other systemic manifestation. Six had additional systemic lymphoma manifestations apart from the brain and BM.ConclusionsIn only 2 out of 352 (0.6%) patients with CNS lymphoma (320 presumed PCNSL and 32 SCNSL), BMB had an impact on diagnosis and treatment. While collected in a selected cohort, these findings challenge the value of BMB as part of routine staging in presumed PCNSL.     

Diagnostic and Clinical Impact of Staging 18F-FDG PET/CT in Mantle-Cell Lymphoma: A Two-Center Experience

IntroductionThe diagnostic accuracy of fluorine-18–fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT) in staging mantle-cell lymphoma has not yet investigated. The aim of this 2-center retrospective study was to investigate the utility of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT in assessing nodal, splenic, bone marrow (BM), and gastrointestinal (GI) disease compared to CT, BM, and GI endoscopy; and to assess its clinical impact.Patients and MethodsOne hundred twenty-two patients with histologically proven mantle-cell lymphoma were included. PET/CT BM findings were considered positive if isolated/multiple focal uptake in the BM not explained by benign findings and/or diffuse BM uptake higher than liver with/without focal uptakes were present. PET/CT findings were considered positive for GI involvement in the presence of isolated/multiple focal uptake in the GI organ.ResultsAll patients had positive PET/CT showing the presence of at least one hypermetabolic lesion, with the exception of one case. PET/CT results, compared to CT, detected more nodal and/or splenic lesions in 26 patients. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of PET/CT for BM were 52%, 98%, 97%, 65%, and 74%; for GI 64%, 91%, 69%, 90%, and 85%; and for GI excluding diabetic patients, 78%, 92%, 72%, 94%, and 89%. PET/CT permitted upstaging of 21 cases and downstaging of 2.Conclusion¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT showed excellent detection rate in nodal and splenic disease—a rate better than CT. For BM and GI evaluation, in order to reach good accuracy, the selection of patients and the use of specific criteria for evaluation of these organs seems to be crucial. Moreover, PET/CT altered the management and therapeutic approach in about 20% of patients.     

Consistency of FDG-PET accuracy and cost-effectiveness in initial staging of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma across jurisdictions

IntroductionTwo hundred ten patients with newly diagnosed Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) were consecutively enrolled in this prospective trial to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of fluorine-18 (¹⁸F)-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose–positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) scan in initial staging of patients with HL.MethodsAll 210 patients were staged with conventional clinical staging (CCS) methods, including computed tomography (CT), bone marrow biopsy (BMB), and laboratory tests. Patients were also submitted to metabolic staging (MS) with whole-body FDG-PET scan before the beginning of treatment. A standard of reference for staging was determined with all staging procedures, histologic examination, and follow-up examinations. The accuracy of the CCS was compared with the MS. Local unit costs of procedures and tests were evaluated. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was calculated for both strategies.ResultsIn the 210 patients with HL, the sensitivity for initial staging of FDG-PET was higher than that of CT and BMB in initial staging (97.9% vs. 87.3%; P < .001 and 94.2% vs. 71.4%, P < 0.003, respectively). The incorporation of FDG-PET in the staging procedure upstaged disease in 50 (24%) patients and downstaged disease in 17 (8%) patients. Changes in treatment would be seen in 32 (15%) patients. Cumulative cost for staging procedures was $3751/patient for CCS compared to $5081 for CCS + PET and $4588 for PET/CT. The ICER of PET/CT strategy was $16,215 per patient with modified treatment. PET/CT costs at the beginning and end of treatment would increase total costs of HL staging and first-line treatment by only 2%.ConclusionFDG-PET is more accurate than CT and BMB in HL staging. Given observed probabilities, FDG-PET is highly cost-effective in the public health care program in Brazil.     

继发性骨淋巴瘤的18F-FDG PET/CT影像诊断及与骨髓活检诊断效能的比较

目的:分析继发性骨淋巴瘤的PET/CT影像特点,比较骨髓活检（bone marrow biopsy,BMB）及PET/CT诊断骨淋巴瘤各自的优势,探讨如何进一步提高骨淋巴瘤的检出率。方法:回顾性分析放化疗前在我院行PET/CT检查的68例继发性骨淋巴瘤影像及骨髓活检资料。所有病例均病理确诊为淋巴瘤。骨淋巴瘤病灶的诊断标准:BMB阳性或骨局灶性FDG代谢增高且治疗后代谢减低或消失。采用SPSS 16.0统计分析不同分组的SUVmax及诊断效能差异。结果:PET/CT与BMB诊断灵敏度比较:68例中63例行BMB。PET/CT的总体诊断灵敏度及对非惰性淋巴瘤的诊断灵敏度高于BMB（P＜0.05）,而对惰性淋巴瘤,BMB灵敏度略高于PET/CT(P＞0.05)。PET/CT表现与BMB结果:根据PET/CT所见分为骨质破坏组（18例）和骨髓浸润组（50例）,骨质破坏组的SUVmax明显高于骨髓浸润组（P＜0.01）。骨质破坏组以弥漫大B细胞淋巴瘤（diffuse large B cell lymphoma,DLBCL）为主,PET/CT均阳性。骨髓浸润组PET/CT阳性41例,表现为局灶性增高、弥漫不均匀性增高和弥漫均匀性增高,弥漫均匀性增高组的SUVmax明显低于其它两组。BMB阴性21例,其中骨质破坏组8例,局灶性骨髓浸润13例。病理类型与PET/CT表现:31例DLBCL、10例其它侵袭性非霍奇金淋巴瘤（non-Hodgkin's lymphoma,NHL）及6例霍奇金淋巴瘤（Hodgkin's lymphoma,HL）均PET/CT阳性;18例惰性淋巴瘤PET/CT仅11例阳性。DLBCL的SUVmax明显高于惰性淋巴瘤（P＜0.05）。结论:继发性骨淋巴瘤骨髓浸润多于骨质破坏。骨质破坏和局灶性骨髓浸润多见于侵袭性骨淋巴瘤,而弥漫性骨髓浸润更多见于惰性淋巴瘤。PET/CT对骨质破坏、局灶性骨髓浸润的诊断优于BMB,而BMB对弥漫性骨髓浸润的诊断优于PET/CT。联合BMB和PET/CT才能更准确地诊断骨淋巴瘤。     

Prognostic significance of molecular staging by PCR-amplification of immunoglobulin gene rearrangements in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

The prognostic value of the detection of peripheral blood (PB) and/or bone marrow (BM) involvement by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of rearranged immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) and immunoglobulin kappa light chain (Igkappa) genes was evaluated in 155 patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL). Immunoglobulin gene rearrangements (IgR) were detected in 35/155 (23%) patients. The presence of IgR in PB/BM was related to clinical stage (CS I-III vs CS IV; P<0.001), histopathological detection of BM involvement (P<0.001), and the International Prognostic Index (P<0.001). IgR-positive cases had a significantly lower complete remission (CR) rate (18/35, 51%) than IgR-negative patients (85/120, 71%; P=0.042), and a significantly poorer overall survival (OAS) at 5 years (25 vs 66%; P<0.001). There was a significant difference in the estimated OAS at 5 years between patients with negative BM histology and negative PCR results (66%), patients with negative BM histology but positive IgR (37%), and patients with positive BM histology (12%). Our results indicate that molecular methods improve the accuracy of staging in patients with DLBCL and define a group of patients with normal bone marrow histology who have a significantly poorer OAS due to molecular detection of PB/BM involvement.     

FDG—PET显像技术在恶性淋巴瘤诊断与治疗中的应用

对大多数肿瘤而言，^18F—FDGPET具有敏感性高、特异性强的优点。在淋巴结和结外淋巴瘤的诊断检出率、淋巴瘤分期和再分期、疗效预测和评估、检测微小残留病灶、监测复发和预后判断均优于CT或^67Ga。PET常上调淋巴瘤分期（约40％），PET的检出效能随淋巴瘤的组织类型而变动，尤其对弥漫性大B细胞淋巴瘤（DLBCL）和霍奇金病诊断率高。对骨髓累及的检出PET／CT可补充骨髓活检（BMB），但不能取代BMB。PET较^67Ga对脾淋巴瘤有更高的检出率。治疗早中期PET／CT是无进展生存期和总生存期独立的预后指标。FDG并非肿瘤特异性物质，FDG—PET存在假阳性和假阴性，需注意鉴别，可能时进行组织活检。     

Value of bone marrow biopsy in Hodgkin lymphoma patients staged by FDG PET: results from the German Hodgkin Study Group trials HD16, HD17, and HD18

BackgroundBone marrow (BM) involvement defines advanced-stage Hodgkin lymphoma and thus has impact on the assignment to treatment. Our aim was to evaluate whether the established BM biopsy may be omitted in patients if ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) scanning is carried out during staging.Patients and methodsOur analysis set consisted of 832 Hodgkin lymphoma patients from the German Hodgkin Study Group trials HD16, HD17, and HD18 who underwent both PET scanning and BM biopsy before treatment. All PET studies were centrally reviewed and BM was categorized as showing focal involvement or not.ResultsTaking BM biopsy as reference standard, baseline PET showed a negative predictive value of 99.9% [95% confidence interval (CI) 99.2% to 100%] with true-negative results in 702 of 703 cases. The sensitivity of PET for detecting BM involvement was 95.0% (95% CI 75.1% to 99.9%) as it could identify 19 out of 20 patients with positive BM biopsy. Moreover, PET found 110 additional subjects with focal BM lesions who would have been considered negative by biopsy.ConclusionsWhen compared with BM biopsy, PET was able to detect focal BM lesions in a large number of additional patients. This indicates that conventional BM biopsy may substantially underestimate the actual incidence of BM involvement. Given the high negative predictive value, baseline PET scanning can safely be used to exclude BM involvement in Hodgkin lymphoma. BM biopsy should be considered only in such patients in whom PET-detected lesions lead to a change of treatment protocol.Registered trialsThe trials included in this analysis were registered at ClinicalTrials.gov: HD16—NCT00736320, HD17—NCT01356680, and HD18—NCT00515554.     

[18F]-FDG–PET in clinical stage I/II non-seminomatous germ cell tumours: results of the German multicentre trial

PurposeThe aim of this study was to determine the predictive values of 2-[fluorine-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose–positron emission tomography (FDG–PET) in primary staging in patients with newly diagnosed non-seminomatous germ cell tumour (NSGCT) clinical stage I/II.Patients and methodsThe hypothesis was that FDG–PET would improve the negative predictive value (NPV) from 70% to 90%, thus requiring a total of 169 patients. All scans underwent visual analysis by a reference team of nuclear medicine physicians. Results were validated by histology following retroperitoneal lymph node dissection.ResultsOnly 72 of the planned 169 patients were included, due to poor accrual. The prevalence of nodal involvement was 26%. Correct nodal staging by FDG–PET was achieved in 83% compared with correct computed tomography (CT) staging in 71%. CT had a sensitivity and specificity of 41% and 95%, respectively. Positive predictive value (PPV) and NPV were 87% and 67%, respectively. FDG–PET had a sensitivity and specificity of 66% and 98%, respectively. PPV was 95%. The primary end point was not reached, with an NPV of 78%.ConclusionFDG–PET as a primary staging tool for NSGCT yielded only slightly better results than CT. Both methods had a high specificity while false-negative findings were more frequent with CT. FDG–PET is mostly useful as a diagnostic tool in case of questionable CT scan.     

PET/CT in Disease Detection and Follow-up of Subcutaneous Involvement in Marginal Zone Lymphoma

BackgroundThe value of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in the staging and assessment of treatment response in marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) lymphomas remains controversial. We investigated radiologic characteristics of subcutaneous MZL as imaged on PET/CT scans.Patients and MethodsFrom the records of a single medical center, for the years 2008 and 2017, we identified subcutaneous lesions in PET/CT scans of patients with histopathologically confirmed MZL in sites other than subcutaneous tissue.ResultsOf 571 scans of 178 patients, subcutaneous lesions were found in 20 (11%). Lesions were located in soft tissue structures, mainly along the lateral aspects of the buttocks, thighs and lower and upper back areas, the flank, and the shoulders. Median lengths of the long and short axes of the lesions were 2.0 (range, 1.1-6.0) cm and 0.8 (range, 0.3-2.0) cm, respectively. Median standardized maximum uptake value was 2.3 (range, 0.9-7.6). In 12 patients (60%), MZL was diagnosed at an early stage; 15 (75%) had lymph node involvement and 10 (50%) extranodal involvement. One had spleen and 2 had cutaneous involvement; none had gastric findings.ConclusionThe findings of this study support the usefulness of PET/CT in the detection of subcutaneous MZL as well as in staging and treatment decisions.     

Utility of Bone Marrow Biopsy and Aspirate for Staging of Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma in the Era of Positron Emission Tomography With 2-Deoxy-2-[Fluorine-18]fluoro-deoxyglucose Integrated With Computed Tomography

BackgroundAbout one-third of patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) have lymphomatous bone marrow involvement (BMI) at the time of diagnosis, and bone marrow aspirate/biopsy (BMAB) is considered the gold standard to detect such involvement. [¹⁸F] fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography (PET-CT), has become standard pretreatment imaging in DLBCL and may be a noninvasive alternative to BMAB to ascertain BMI. Prior studies have suggested that PET-CT scan may obviate the need for BMAB as a component for staging patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL, but this is not yet a standard of practice. The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the accuracy of PET-CT in detecting BMI in DLBCL and to define 2-year and 5-year overall survival based on BMI by BMAB versus PET-CT.MethodsWe reviewed institutional records of all patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL between January 2004 and December 2013 who underwent pretreatment PET-CT and BMAB. PET-CT images were visually assessed for BMI, including the posterior iliac crest. Patients with primary mediastinal DLBCL, previous history or coexistence of another lymphoma subtype, and those with a nondiagnostic BMAB, and in whom the PET-CT did not show marrow signal abnormality, were excluded from the analysis. Ann Arbor stage was determined using PET-CT with and without the contribution of BMAB, and the proportion of stage IV cases by each method was measured.ResultsAmong 99 eligible patients, the median age was 62 years (range, 24-88 years), 62 (63%) were male, 53 (53%) had elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase, and 17 (16%) had an Eastern Community Oncology Group performance status of > 2. Thirteen (12%) patients had more than 1 extra-nodal site of lymphoma involvement. Revised International Prognostic Index score was 1 in 39 (37%) patients, 2 in 42 (40%) patients, 3 in 20 (19%) patients, and 4 in 4 (4%) patients. A total of 38 (36%) patients had BMI established by either PET-CT (n = 24; 24%), BMAB (n = 14; 14%), or by both modalities (n = 12; 12%). Twelve (50%) of the 24 patients with positive PET-CT had BMI by DLBCL, whereas only 2 (3%) of the 75 patients with negative PET-CT showed BMI. BMAB upstaged 1 (2%) of the 53 stage I/II patients to stage IV. The sensitivity and specificity of PET-CT scan to detect BMI by DLBCL was 86% (95% confidence interval, 51.9%-95.7%) and 87% (95% confidence interval, 76%-92%), respectively. Eighty-five (86%) patients had concordant results between lymphomatous BMAB and PET-CT (12 patients were positive for both; 73 patients were negative for both), and 14 (14%) patients had a discordant interpretation (2 patients were positive by BMAB and negative by PET-CT, and 12 patients were negative by BMAB and positive by PET-CT). The positive predictive value of PET-CT was only 50%, whereas the negative predictive value was 98%. The accuracy of PET-CT was 86%. Although patients with positive BMAB had inferior 5-year overall survival estimates compared with those with negative BMAB (66% vs. 85%; P = .08), no such difference was demonstrated between PET-CT-positive and PET-CT-negative patients (79% vs. 83%; P = .30).ConclusionsIn patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL, PET-CT is accurate in detecting BMI by DLBCL. Although PET-CT has a very high negative predictive value for BMI, it overestimates the number of cases with marrow involvement by DLBCL. In clinical practice, routine BMAB may no longer be necessary for all patients with DLBCL who are staged by PET-CT, unless the results would change both staging and therapy. The prognostic implication of BMI identified by PET-CT compared with BMAB remains unknown. Whether a PET-CT precludes the need for a BMAB in patients with DLBCL remains to be evaluated in a prospective study.     

Impact of 18F-FDG PET/CT staging on management and prognostic stratification in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: A prospective observational study

BackgroundAccurate assessment of the extent of cancer is essential for appropriate treatment planning and outcome prediction. This study prospectively evaluated whether adding ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose (¹⁸F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) to the routine initial staging practice in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) improved management and prognosis.MethodsAll consecutive patients with newly diagnosed HNSCC who presented in October 2010 – December 2012 underwent conventional workups (CWU) followed by PET/CT. The clinical stage and management plans before and after PET/CT were compared. PET/CT was deemed to have no/low, moderate, and high impact on management planning depending on whether PET/CT changed the treatment modality or goal. The appropriateness of PET/CT staging and management impact was confirmed by histopathology and clinical follow-up, and its association with survival was analysed.FindingsOf the 248 patients, PET/CT changed the Tumour Node Metastasis (TNM) classification in 79 (31.9%). In the patients with discordant staging, PET/CT staging was significantly more sensitive and accurate than CWU staging (both P < 0.001). PET/CT had high or moderate impact on management in 39 (15.7%) patients. Patients with PET/CT upstaged disease had significantly worse progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) than patients with no CWU-stage changes (3-year PFS = 56.8% versus 74.5%, P = 0.043; 3-year OS = 61.3% versus 85.3%, P = 0.006). Multivariate analyses revealed that PET/CT staging and second primary cancer were independent predictive factors for both PFS and OS (P < 0.05, each).Interpretations¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT added important staging information that improved management and prognostic stratification in HNSCC.     

Added value of para-aortic surgical staging compared to 18F-FDG PET/CT on the external beam radiation field for patients with locally advanced cervical cancer: An ONCO-GF study

ObjectiveExtended field chemoradiation is recommended for patients with locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) and para-aortic lymph node (PALN) metastases. The radiation planning may be based on PET/CT while others recommend to rely on surgical staging. We report the rate of patients for whom the radiation field defined on PET/CT was modified by the histological PALN status.MethodsBetween March 2010 and December 2016, 168 consecutive patients with LACC underwent a pre-therapeutic PET/CT and PALN dissection. The data were reviewed retrospectively. The diagnostic performance of the PET/CT for definition of PALN status was calculated. We determined the percentage of patients for whom PALN dissection altered the external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) field defined on the PET/CT basis.ResultsOf 151 patients with negative PALNs on PET/CT, 26 had histological PALN metastases. Of 17 patients with positive PALNs on PET/CT, 9 were negative on histology of which 7 were located in the common iliac region. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value of PET/CT were 23.5, 93.3, 47.1 and 82.8% respectively. In total, 35 out of 168 patients underwent EBRT - field adaptation (pelvic vs extended field). The rate of radiation field modification (27,7%) was particularly high in the subgroup of patients with metastatic pelvic lymph nodes (PLNs) on PET/CT.ConclusionPara-aortic surgical staging contributes significantly to individualize the radiation treatment of patients with LACC, particularly for those with positive PLNs at PET/CT. Indication of surgical staging deserves particular attention when the PET/CT suggests positive LNs in the common iliac region.     

Diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma with concordant bone marrow involvement has peculiar genomic profile and poor clinical outcome

Bone marrow (BM) involvement in diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL) can be morphologically discordant from the primary tumor. Concordant BM infiltration has been shown associated with a poorer outcome in patients treated with CHOP. In order to evaluate tumor‐related factors leading to BM involvement in DLBCL, we performed an integrated analysis of i) genomic profiles obtained with a high‐density genome wide SNP‐based arrays ii) immunomorphological and iii) clinical data from 133 patients uniformly treated with R‐CHOP. BM infiltration was found in 27 of 133 (20%) cases; and it was concordant in 18/27 (67%) cases. Concordant infiltration, but not discordant, influenced negatively OS, PFS and DFS and was associated with higher serum LDH, lower CR and higher PD rates. No association with cell of origin was found between BM+ and BM‐ DLBCL. As compared with BM‐ cases, BM+ DLBCL showed absence of 7q gain. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Prognostic significance of interim ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT after three or four cycles of R-CHOP chemotherapy in the treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Purpose

¹⁸F-fluoro-2-dexoy-d-glucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET)/computerised tomography (CT) has been used for staging and monitoring responses to treatment in patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The sequential interim PET/CT was prospectively investigated to determine whether it provided additional prognostic information and could be a positive predictable value within patients with the same international prognostic index (IPI) after the use of rituximab in DLBCL.

Methods

One hundred and sixty-one patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL were enroled; the assessment of the PET/CT was performed at the time of diagnosis and mid-treatment of rituxibmab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisolone (R-CHOP).

Results

Sixty-seven patients (41.6%) presented with advanced stage disease and 27 (16.8%) had bulky lesions. Forty-three patients (26.7%) continued to have positive metabolic uptakes with a significantly high relapse rate (62.8%) compared to the patients with a negative interim PET/CT (12.1%) (P < 0.01). After a median follow-up of 30.8 months, the positivity of interim PET/CT was found to be a prognostic factor for both overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), with a hazard ratio of 4.07 (2.62-6.32) and 5.46 (3.49-8.52), respectively. In the low-risk IPI group, the 3-year OS and PFS rates were significantly different in the patients with positive (53.3% and 52.5%) and negative (93.8% and 88.3%) interim PET/CT, respectively (P < 0.01). These significant prognostic differences of interim PET/CT responses were consistent with the results of the patients with high-risk IPI group (P < 0.01).

Conclusions

Interim PET/CT scanning had a significant predictive value for disease progression and survival of DLBCL in post-rituximab treatment; it might be the single most important determinant of clinical outcome in patients with the same IPI risk.     

Italian Multicenter Study on Accuracy of 18F-FDG PET/CT in Assessing Bone Marrow Involvement in Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma

Introduction

The present study investigated the utility of fluorine-18 (¹⁸F) fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose (¹⁸F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in assessing bone marrow involvement (BMI) compared with bone marrow biopsy (BMB) in newly diagnosed pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma (HL).

Frequent impact of [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography on the staging and management of patients with indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

[18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) is useful in staging aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). However, its role in indolent NHL has not been established. This retrospective study assessed the sensitivity and clinical impact of PET findings in patients with indolent NHL. Patients with indolent NHL who underwent FDG-PET scanning between May 1997 and August 2001 were identified. Case records were reviewed for FDG-PET and conventional staging/restaging results and compared for concordance. Forty-seven patients were identified. Twelve staging FDG-PET scans and 37 restaging FDG-PET scans were obtained. The FDG-PET case sensitivity rate was 98%. Forty-two percent of staging FDG-PET scans were concordant with conventional staging, with the remaining patients exhibiting more extensive disease on PET. At progression, FDG-PET and conventional assessments were discordant in 46% of cases. Positron emission tomography findings downstaged disease in 30% of these patients and upstaged disease in 16%. Computed tomography (CT) and FDG-PET identified 150 and 146 individual sites of disease, respectively. Among "definite" sites on structural imaging, 74% were also seen on PET. For equivocal lesions, only 19% were seen on both modalities. Clinical management was changed in 34% of patients as a result of FDG-PET findings. Of 22 discordant lesions in which true disease status could be evaluated, the PET findings were confirmed to be correct in 21 (95%; P < 0.0001). These findings demonstrate that FDG-PET has a high sensitivity for indolent NHL and often leads to alteration of disease staging and management. This high accuracy of FDG-PET in assessing discordant lesions suggests a greater diagnostic utility compared with CT.     

Can flow cytometry of bone marrow aspirate predict outcome of patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma? A retrospective single centre study

Bone marrow (BM) trephine biopsy is a part of routine staging of patients with newly diagnosed diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The significance of lymphoid monoclonal population on flow cytometry (FC) of the BM aspirate in the presence of negative BM histology has not been clarified. In this study, we assessed the clinical role of positive FC in predicting outcome of patients with DLBCL and a negative BM histology. We retrospectively analysed 101 patients diagnosed with DLBCL at a single institution between years 1994–2003. Three groups of patients were compared: patients with histologic involvement of the BM (BM+), patients with no histologic involvement of the BM but with positive FC (BM?FC+) and patients with neither histologic or FC evidence of BM involvement (BM?FC?). The BM+ group included 13 patients (13%). The BM?FC+ group 16 patients (16%), and the BM?FC?included 72 patients (71%). Median age of the cohort was 67 years. Disease stage and International Prognostic Index score were significantly higher in the BM+ and BM?FC+ groups compared with the BM?FC? group. Median overall survival (OS) for the BM?FC?, BM?FC+ and BM + groups were 4.6, 2.2 and 0.9 years, respectively. Median progression free survival (PFS) for the BM?FC?, BM?FC+ and BM+ groups were 3.2, 1.4 and 0.6 years, respectively (p=0.01 for both analysis). In multivariable Cox regression models adjusting for age, sex, stage and International Prognostic Index, there was no significant differences in OS or PFS between the BM?FC+ and BM?FC? groups. In conclusion, positive FC in the setting of negative BM histology at diagnosis did not significantly affect OS or PFS. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

2-(fluorine-18)fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography in the detection and staging of malignant lymphoma. A bicenter trial

BACKGROUND: The authors undertook a prospective evaluation of the clinical value of 2-fluoro [18-]-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in the detection and staging of malignant lymphoma compared with computed tomography (CT) and bone marrow biopsy (BMB). METHODS: Fifty-two consecutive patients with untreated malignant lymphoma were evaluated prospectively in a bicenter study. FDG-PET, CT, and BMB were performed for investigating lymph node/extranodal manifestations and bone marrow infiltration. Thirty-three percnt of the discrepant results were verified by biopsy, magnetic resonance imaging, or clinical follow-up (range, 4-24 month). RESULTS: Altogether, 1297 anatomic regions (lymph nodes, organs, and bone marrow) were evaluated. FDG-PET and CT scans were compared by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The area under the ROC curve were as follows: lymph nodes, 0.996 (PET) and 0.916 (CT); extranodal, 0.999 (PET) and 0.916 (CT); supradiaphragmatic, 0.996 (PET) and 0.905 (CT); and infradiaphragmatic, 0.999 (PET) and 0.952 (CT). In these analyses, FDG-PET was significantly superior to CT (P < 0.05), except in infradiaphragmatic regions, in which the two methods produced equivalent results. In detecting bone marrow infiltration, FDG-PET was superior to CT and was equivalent to BMB. In 4 of 52 patients (8%), FDG-PET led to an upstaging and a change of therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Noninvasive FDG-PET is very accurate in the staging of malignant lymphoma. Compared with standard staging modalities (CT and BMB), PET was significantly superior and led to changes in the therapy regimen for 8% of patients.     

Risk-adapted FDG–PET/CT-based follow-up in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma after first-line therapy

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of 2-[fluorine-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose–positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG–PET/CT) during follow-up of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) being in complete remission or unconfirmed complete remission after first-line therapy.Patients and methods: DLBCL patients receiving FDG–PET/CT during follow-up were analyzed retrospectively. Confirmatory biopsy was mandatory in cases of suspected disease recurrence.ResultsSeventy-five patients were analyzed and 23 (30%) had disease recurrence. The positive predictive value (PPV) of FDG–PET/CT was 0.85. Patients >60 years [P = 0.036, hazard ratio (HR) = 3.82, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02–7.77] and patients with symptoms indicative of a relapse (P = 0.015; HR = 4.1; 95% CI 1.20–14.03) had a significantly higher risk for relapse. A risk score on the basis of signs of relapse, age >60 years, or a combination of these factors identified patients at high risk for recurrence (P = 0.041).ConclusionsFDG–PET/CT detects recurrent DLBCL after first-line therapy with high PPV. However, it should not be used routinely and if only in selected high-risk patients to reduce radiation burden and costs. On the basis of our retrospective data, FDG–PET/CT during follow-up is indicated for patients <60 years with clinical signs of relapse and in patients >60 years with and without clinical signs of relapse.