¹⁸F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography for Evaluating the Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Advanced Esophageal Cancer.

Background/Aim: The purpose of the present study was to improve the diagnostic precision of F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in patients with advanced esophageal cancer. Patients and Methods: Thirty patients underwent FDG-PET/CT before and after NAC. The maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) and metabolic tumor volume (MTV) were measured. Patients were divided into two pathological response groups: "responders" (grades 1b-3) or "non-responders" (grades 01-a). Results: Overall, 11 patients were responders. Significant differences were present for the post-NAC SUVmax (p=0.070), % decrease in SUVmax (p=0.017), post-NAC MTV (p=0.014), and % decrease in MTV (p=0.003). Conclusion: Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the % decrease in MTV of the primary tumor was the best indicator of response to NAC. We are currently striving to improve the accuracy of this assessment method.