Metabolic activity on [18f]-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography and glucose transporter-1 expression might predict clinical outcomes in patients with limited disease small-cell lung cancer who receive concurrent chemoradiation.

BACKGROUND: Limited disease small-cell lung cancer responds well to concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CCRT), but shows high relapse rate and short RFS. We aimed to evaluate tumor metabolic activities measured using FDG-PET as a prognostic factor and analyze its relationships with markers of tumor biologic behavior.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty-one LD-SCLC patients receiving 4 cycles of EP (etoposide 120 mg/m(2), days 1-3; cisplatin 60 mg/m(2), day 1), 2 cycles of EP (etoposide 130 mg/m(2), days 1-3; cisplatin 30 mg/m(2), day 1)-CCRT were enrolled. Maximum standardized uptake value (SUV; SUVmax) of primary tumor was revised with SUV of liver (SUVlivermax). Differences between pre-, posttreatment average SUV uptake of primary tumor, and intrathoracic lymph nodes were presented as ΔSUVliveravg. Thirty-one tumor biopsy specimens were immunostained for GLUT-1, Bcl-2, and HIF-1α.

RESULTS: The median overall survival (OS), and RFS were 13.7 and 10.4 months, respectively. In multivariate analysis, pretreatment lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and ΔSUVliveravg correlated with RFS (hazard ratio [HR], 2.8, P = .043; HR, 0.3, P = .004). Sex, LDH, objective tumor metabolic response, and SUVlivermax correlated with OS (HR, 12.1, P = .006; HR, 3.7, P = .037; HR, 10.1, P = .008; and HR, 0.2, P = .014, respectively). High GLUT-1 positivity (> 75%), and LDH level (> 400 U/L) correlated with better objective response rate (P = .012) and HIF-1α immunoreactivity score (P = .029).

CONCLUSION: ΔSUVliveravg and GLUT-1 expression might predict RFS and ORR in patients with LD-SCLC treated with definitive CCRT.