Prognostic significance of maximum standardized uptake value on 18F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography in bone sarcomas.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate the prognostic significance of maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) on 18F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18FDG-PET/CT) for bone sarcoma.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated 34 patients (24 males, 10 females; mean age 36.6±24.2 years; range, 5 to 77 years) with pathologically proven bone sarcoma who underwent 18FDG-PET/CT for initial staging between September 2013 and September 2017. SUVmax of primary lesions were measured. Cumulative survival rate was calculated to evaluate the prognostic value of 18FDG-PET/CT findings. Survival duration was defined as the elapsed duration from the date of pre-treatment 18FDG-PET/CT scanning until the date of the final examination before the date of death.

RESULTS: The cut-off value for SUVmax in the definition of progression was 8. Mean SUVmax of the progressive group was statistically significantly higher than the non-progressive group. Distant metastases were present in 14 (41.1%) cases. Mortality and cumulative survival rates were 14.7% and 79.1±0.08%, respectively.

CONCLUSION: Semiquantitative estimation of primary tumor metabolic activity in terms of baseline SUVmax using 18FDG-PET/CT can predict the overall survival of patients with bone sarcoma.