Volumetric PET parameters are predictive for the prognosis of locally advanced cervical cancer.

BACKGROUND The present study evaluates the relationship between PET/CT findings and survival in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) with a squamous cell histology. METHODS The study included 70 patients with LACC (FIGO stage IB2-IVA). The relationship between pretreatment PET/CT parameters, age, stage, lymph node metastasis and survival was evaluated using the univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS The mean age of the 70 patients was 57.4 years and the mean duration of follow-up was 33.6 months. Disease progression occurred in 36 patients and 32 patients died during the follow-up period. In the univariate analysis, MTV-P and TLG-P were found to be related to progression-free survival (PFS), and stage, MTV-P, TLG-P and SUVmax-Ps were found to be related to overall survival (OS). However, only MTV-P and TLG-P were found to be independent prognostic factors for both PFS and OS. CONCLUSIONS The present findings suggest that volumetric PET parameters (MTV-P, TLG-P) predict the progression and survival of the patients with LACC.