Oncology Medical News about radiotherapy;head and neck cancer;diagnostic and prognostic utility of PET follow-up

Become a Member Today!
Register

Most Viewed Abstracts

1. Report Shows Shift in Starting Salaries for Physicians

2. Recommendations on the use of 18F-FDG PET in oncology

3. Taxane-based combinations as adjuvant chemotherapy of early breast cancer: a meta-analysis of randomized trials

4. Gene expression signatures, clinicopathological features, and individualized therapy in breast cancer

5. Sentinel node biopsy is important in mastectomy for ductal carcinoma in situ

Your Article Summary

See Latest Articles

(Click the title below to leave the MDLinx Network and go to the Journal's Website)

The diagnostic and prognostic utility of positron emission tomography/computed tomography-based follow-up after radiotherapy for head and neck cancer
Cancer, 06/24/09

Kao J et al. - In a study to investigate the clinical value of a follow-up program incorporating serial 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography integrated with computed tomography (PET/CT) in detection of recurrent disease in pts with head and neck cancer (HNC), it was shown that although post-therapy follow-up using PET/CT is reportedly associated with a high false-positive rate in the irradiated head and neck, PET/CT appears to be a highly sensitive technique for detection of recurrent disease. Negative PET/CT results within 6 mos of completion of RT offer significant prognostic value.

Methods

240 PET/CT scans were reviewed in 80 pts with HNC who were treated with radiotherapy (RT).
All pts were followed with clinical examination, PET/CT, and correlative imaging for a minimum of 11 mos.

Results

Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of PET/CT-based follow-up for detecting locoregional recurrence were 92%, 82%, 42%, and 98%, respectively.
Corresponding values for distant metastases or second primary tumors were 93%, 96%, 81%, and 98%, respectively.
8 pts (10%) developed disease recurrences or second primary tumors that were amenable to salvage surgery with negative surgical margins.
2-yr progression-free survival and 2-yr overall survival rates were significantly different between pts who had a negative and those with a positive PET/CT result within 6 mos of completion of RT (93% vs 30% and 100% vs 32%, respectively).

<< Previous
Wilms tumor 1 gene mutations are associated with a higher risk of...

Next >>
Overweight is associated with improved cancer-specific survival...

Chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced head and neck cancer: 10-year follow-up of the UK Head and Neck (UKHAN1) trial
The Lancet Oncology - Online First, 10/30/09 Relevance Score: 96%

Radiotherapy plus cetuximab for locoregionally advanced head and neck cancer: 5-year survival data from a phase 3 randomised trial, and relation between cetuximab-induced rash and survival
The Lancet Oncology - Online First, 11/12/09 Relevance Score: 95%

Adjuvant radiotherapy and chemoradiation after surgery for cervical cancer
Cochrane Reviews, 10/09/09 Relevance Score: 95%

Avoidance of radiotherapy-related, gastrointestinal complications in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus: A case report and review of literature
Saudi Journal of Gastroenterology, 10/05/09 Relevance Score: 91%

Prognostic value of 18F-FDG PET/CT before and after radiotherapy for locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Annals of Oncology, 11/19/09 Relevance Score: 89%