Clinical Significance and Prognostic Value of the Maximum Standardized Uptake Value of 18F-Flurodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography–Computed Tomography in Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

BackgroundThe role of 18F-flurodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography–computed tomography (PET/CT) in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the association of the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), a parameter of 18F-FDG PET/CT, with KRAS mutation, the Ki-67 index, and survival in patients with CRC.MethodsData of 66 patients with CRC who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT was retrospectively collected in our center. The clinical significance of the SUVmax in CRC and the association of the SUVmax with KRAS mutation and the Ki-67 index were determined. A meta-analysis was conducted by a systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, and CNKI databases, and the data from published articles were combined with that of our study. The association of the SUVmax with KRAS mutation and the Ki-67 index was determined using the odds ratio to estimate the pooled results. The hazard ratio was used to quantitatively evaluate the prognosis of the SUVmax in CRC.ResultsBy analyzing the data of 66 patients with CRC, the SUVmax was found not to be related to the tumor-node-metastasis stage, clinical stage, sex, and KRAS mutation but was related to the tumor location and nerve invasion. The SUVmax had no significant correlation with the tumor biomarkers and the Ki-67 index. Data of 17 studies indicated that the SUVmax was significantly increased in the mutated type compared with the wild type of KRAS in CRC; four studies showed that there was no remarkable difference between patients with a high and low Ki-67 index score regarding the SUVmax. Twelve studies revealed that the SUVmax had no significant association with overall survival and disease-free survival in CRC patients.ConclusionsBased on the combined data, this study demonstrated that the SUVmax of 18F-FDG PET/CT was different between colon and rectal cancers and associated with KRAS mutation but not the Ki-67 index; there was no significant association between the SUVmax and survival of patients with CRC.