Absence of a relationship between tumor 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose standardized uptake value and survival in patients treated with definitive radiotherapy for non-small-cell lung cancer

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: A recent meta-analysis suggested that patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose primary tumors have a higher standardized uptake value (SUV) derived from F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) have a worse prognosis in comparison with those with tumors with lower values. However, previous analyses have had methodological weaknesses. Furthermore, the prognostic significance over the full range of SUV values in patients treated nonsurgically remains unclear. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the relationship between survival and maximum SUV (SUVmax) analyzed as a continuous variable, in patients with NSCLC, staged using PET/compu..