喉頭癌におけるMetabolic Tumor Volumeと予後との相関

抄録

The current definitive treatment for laryngeal cancer is surgery and radiotherapy. Radiotherapy with or without concurrent chemotherapy is used to preserve the function of the organs; however, more than a few patients experience residual or recurrent lesions after radiotherapy-based treatment. Not all such patients undergo salvage surgery, and salvage surgery after irradiation is associated with a high complication rates. A precise prediction of the response to radiotherapy-based treatment is therefore warranted.

We previously reported that the metabolic tumor volume（MTV）, a volumetric parameter of FDG-PET, of a primary tumor was an independent predictive and prognostic factor in laryngeal cancer treated by a radiotherapy-based protocol. Patients with residual disease showed a significantly higher MTV than those with a complete response after primary treatment. According to a multivariate analysis, MTV was found to be an independent prognostic factor for survival.

Next, we evaluated the difference in the survival outcomes of surgery-based and radiotherapy-based treatment in patients with high-MTV laryngeal cancer. Patients with high-MTV laryngeal cancer who were treated by a surgery-based protocol showed better survival than those who underwent radiotherapy-based treatment. These results imply that the MTV could be an important factor when planning the treatment strategy for patients with laryngeal cancer.