Prognostic value of the maximum standardized uptake value of pre-treatment primary lesions in small-cell lung cancer on 18F-FDG PET/CT: a meta-analysis:

Background18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG-PET/CT) has been widely used in clinical practice. However, the prognostic value of the pre-treatment standardized uptake value (SUV) for patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) remains controversial.PurposeTo investigate the prognostic role of pre-treatment 18F-FDG PET on SCLC patients by meta-analysis.Material and MethodsExtensive literature searches of the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases were conducted to identify literature published until 5 May 2017. Comparative analyses of the pooled hazard ratios (HRs) for event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) were performed to assess their correlations with the pre-treatment maximum SUV (SUVmax). Either the fixed- or the random-effects model was adopted, depending on the heterogeneity observed across the studies. Subgroup analyses were performed to assess the robustness of the results.ResultsTwelve studies with 1062 patients w...