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Acknowledgement
Acknowledgement
I would like to express my deepest and sincere gratitude to my
professor Dr. Hosna Moustafa, professor of nuclear medicine, Cairo
University. I am greatly indebted to her and no words in my humble
dictionary can express my appreciation to her kind supervision, meticulous
but targeted revision, continuous support, and enormous educational
potential.
I am very grateful to Prof. Dr. Tzu-Chen Yen, professor and chairperson
of nuclear medicine in Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan. She gave me
a great opportunity to be among her research team in such amazing and
friendly environment in Taiwan. Indeed, I have learnt a lot from her,
especially how to think, conduct and analyze a research work.
Also, I would like to thank Dr. Haytham Fouad for his uninterrupted
encouragement and fruitful exchange of ideas.
Many thanks to Dr. Liao Chun-Ta, professor of otolaryngology & head
and neck surgery in Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, for providing the
clinical and follow-up data, in addition to his supportive corrections and
advices, and to all my colleagues and friends in Taiwan who helped me
throughout the 2 years I have spent there and to my family who are always
trying their best to make my life easier.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Acknowledgement .............................................................................................................................i
Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................ii
List of Figures .....................................................................................................................................iv
List of Tables ......................................................................................................................................vi
List of Abbreviations .........................................................................................................................vii
Introduction..........................................................................................................................................1
Aim of the Work ..................................................................................................................................3
Anatomy of the Oral Cavity.................................................................................................................4
I.
Lips ............................................................................................................................................4
II.
Oral Cavity Proper....................................................................................................................5
Regional Lymph Nodes .....................................................................................................................12
I.
Anatomical Considerations......................................................................................................12
II.
AJCC Nodal Classification ....................................................................................................13
Overview of Oral Cavity Carcinoma .................................................................................................16
Epidemiology of OSCC .....................................................................................................................16
Incidence ........................................................................................................................................16
Risk Factors....................................................................................................................................17
Pathology of Oral Cavity Carcinoma.................................................................................................22
I.
Precancerous Lesions of oral cavity ........................................................................................22
II.
Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC)..........................................................................................26
III.
Verrucous Carcinoma (VC) ..................................................................................................30
Staging of the Lip and Oral Cavity Cancer........................................................................................31
Diagnosis of OSCC............................................................................................................................35
Treatment Outlines for OSCC............................................................................................................36
1.
Lip ...........................................................................................................................................37
2.
Floor of the mouth...................................................................................................................38
3.
Oral Tongue ............................................................................................................................38
4.
Buccal Mucosa........................................................................................................................39
5.
Lower Gum .............................................................................................................................39
6.
Retromolar Trigone.................................................................................................................39
7.
Upper Gum and Hard Palate ...................................................................................................39
Prognostic Factors in Oral Cavity Carcinoma ...................................................................................40
I.
Patient-Related Prognostic Factors:.........................................................................................40
II.
Tumor-Related Prognostic Factors:........................................................................................41
III.
Treatment-Related Prognostic Factors:.................................................................................45
PET Imaging ......................................................................................................................................47
PET Radiopharmaceuticals ................................................................................................................47
Normal PET Imaging .........................................................................................................................48
1.
Oral Cavity and Lymphoid Tissues ........................................................................................49
2.
Brown Fat and Skeletal Muscles.............................................................................................51
3.
Laryngeal Uptake....................................................................................................................53
4.
Osseous Uptake.......................................................................................................................53
5.
Orbits.......................................................................................................................................54
6.
Thyroid gland..........................................................................................................................54
7.
Thymus....................................................................................................................................55
8.
Salivary Glands .......................................................................................................................55
Limitations of FDG PET in Head and Neck Cancer..........................................................................55
ii
Table of Contents
1.
Physiologic FDG Uptake ........................................................................................................55
2.
Inadequate Scanner Resolution...............................................................................................55
3.
Recent Surgery and Inflammatory Response..........................................................................56
4.
Effect of Radiation and Chemotherapy...................................................................................56
5.
Low FDG Avidity ...................................................................................................................57
6.
PET/CT Artifacts ....................................................................................................................57
Qualitative and Quantitative Parameters from PET...........................................................................60
I.
Qualitative Assessment............................................................................................................60
II.
Quantitative Assessment ........................................................................................................61
III.
Semi-quantitative Assessment ..............................................................................................61
Clinical Role of FDG-PET in Oral Cavity Carcinoma ......................................................................66
I.
Staging .....................................................................................................................................66
II.
Restaging and Therapy Monitoring........................................................................................70
III.
Prognosis and Risk Stratification..........................................................................................72
The Role of Non-FDG Radiopharmaceuticals...................................................................................76
Patients and Methods .........................................................................................................................78
Patients ...........................................................................................................................................78
PET/CT Imaging Protocol .............................................................................................................78
Data Reading & Analysis...............................................................................................................79
Calculation of Total Lesion Glycloysis (TLG) ..............................................................................81
Surgery and Adjuvant Therapy ......................................................................................................81
Follow-up Protocol ........................................................................................................................82
Statistical Analysis.........................................................................................................................82
Results................................................................................................................................................84
1.
Patients ....................................................................................................................................84
2.
PET/CT Scores and SUV........................................................................................................88
3.
Choice of the Best Contouring Method ..................................................................................89
4.
Total Lesion Glycolysis (TLG)...............................................................................................90
5.
Association between SUV & TLG and Different Pathological Characteristics .....................90
6.
Univariate Analyses ................................................................................................................93
7.
Multivariate Analyses ...........................................................................................................112
8.
Risk Score .............................................................................................................................115
9.
Risk Groups Based on ECS & NSUV ...................................................................................118
Case Presentation .............................................................................................................................119
Case 1: Score 0-patient ................................................................................................................119
Case 2: Score 1-patient (pN+)......................................................................................................120
Case 3: Score 2-patient (high NSUV & pN+) .............................................................................121
Case 4: Score 3-patient with a survival of 34 months..................................................................122
Case 5: Score 3-patient with a survival of 21 months..................................................................123
Case 6: Score 3-patient with a survival of 15 months..................................................................124
Case 7: Patient with positive ECS and low nodal SUV...............................................................125
Case 8: Patient with positive ECS and high nodal SUV..............................................................126
Discussion ........................................................................................................................................127
Conclusion and Recommendations..................................................................................................136
Summary ..........................................................................................................................................137
References........................................................................................................................................141
Arabic Summary ..............................................................................................................................171
iii
List of Figures
List of Figures
Figure 1: Anatomical sites and sub-sites of the oral cavity (20).........................................................4
Figure 2: Lateral view of the tongue showing extrinsic muscles and its nerves(24) ..........................6
Figure 3: Diagram of lymph drainage of the tongue(24)....................................................................7
Figure 4: Coronal section in the floor of the mouth (24)....................................................................8
Figure 5: Schematic diagram showing the deep spaces of the face on the right and some of their
contents on the left (25)................................................................................................................8
Figure 6: A coronal image through the cheek showing the mucosa, muscle, fat pad, masseter, and a
cross-section of the tongue and floor of mouth (21). .................................................................10
Figure 7: Trans-oral view of the alveolar ridge, retromolar region, and mandible of the left side of
the oral cavity (21).....................................................................................................................10
Figure 8: Vestibule and gingivae of the mandible (27).....................................................................11
Figure 9: Lymph vessels and nodes of the head and neck(29)..........................................................13
Figure 10: Schematic diagram indicating the location of the lymph node levels in the neck (20). ..15
Figure 11: Palatal lesion associated with reverse smoking. Note the crate-like ulcerated areas
covered with fibrin (45)..............................................................................................................19
Figure 12: Oral leukoplakia: (A) Gross picture showing numerous lesions that have become
virtually confluent. (B) Microscopic picture showing marked epithelial thickening and
hyperkeratosis ............................................................................................................................23
Figure 13: Proliferative verrucous leukoplakia involving the buccal gingiva (4)............................24
Figure 14: Nicotine Stomatitis: Rough, white, fissured appearance of the hard and soft palate in a
heavy pipe smoker......................................................................................................................25
Figure 15: Squamous cell carcinoma of the lateral tongue ..............................................................26
Figure 16: Verrucous carcinoma. White, exophytic, warty mass of the maxillary alveolar ridge
(22). ............................................................................................................................................31
Figure 17: Methods of measuring tumor thickness. ..........................................................................43
Figure 18: Mechanism of FDG uptake..............................................................................................48
Figure 19: Normal PET/CT scan (121). ............................................................................................49
Figure 20: Midline sagittal view with different H. & N. structures (122).........................................50
Figure 21: Most prominent uptake in the sublingual glands and mylhyoid muscle insertions (122).
....................................................................................................................................................50
Figure 22: Uptake in the soft palate (122). .......................................................................................50
Figure 23: Left: Palatine tonsils uptake, Right: uptake in the pharyngeal tonsil (adenoids) (122)..51
Figure 24: Focal uptake at insertion of muscles into the occipital bone. Uptake is also seen in the
sternocleidomastoid muscles (SCM) and parotid glands (124).................................................51
Figure 25: Asymmetric sternocleidomastoid muscle uptake. (A) Axial CT right sternocleidomastoid
muscle (arrow). (B) Fused PET-CT scan localizes the FDG uptake to the right
sternocleidomastoid muscle (arrow). Note also the symmetric FDG uptake within the
prevertebral strap muscles (arrowheads) (126). .......................................................................52
Figure 26: Asymmetric increased uptake in the muscles of mastication...........................................52
Figure 27: Physiologic uptake in the vocalis muscle, arytenoid muscles and symmetric vocal cord
uptake (122, 126). ......................................................................................................................53
Figure 28: Axial view of FDG-PET showing periodontal/dental (127). ...........................................54
Figure 29: (A) Hypermetabolic thyroid adenoma at the left lobe; (B) Hrthle cell carcinoma at the
right lobe (126). .........................................................................................................................54
Figure 30: Physiologic uptake in the parotid (A) and submandibular glands (B) (126)..................55
Figure 31: Inflammatory FDG uptake at the site of tracheostomy....................................................56
iv
List of Figures
Figure 32: Dental abscess in a patient with history of squamous cell carcinoma of the left side of
the tongue base. (A) CT scan shows no abnormality in the alveolar ridge of maxilla (B) PETCT scan shows a focal area of intense FDG uptake in the site of infected tooth (arrow) (130).
....................................................................................................................................................56
Figure 33: CT attenuation artifact from an implantable catheter port. .........................................58
Figure 34: Truncation artifact...........................................................................................................59
Figure 35: The tumor subsites seen .................................................................................................84
Figure 36: The pattern of recurrence in the 45 patients who experienced treatment failure
(percentages are given among the 45 patients). ........................................................................87
Figure 37: A 65-year-old male with left buccal cancer. (A) Axial T1 post-contrast image showed
enhancement in a small area (2.7 cm) of irregular mucosal thickening in the left buccal area.
(B) Fused PET/CT images revealed low FDG uptake in that site (SUVmax 4.34) and
accordingly was scored 0...........................................................................................................88
Figure 38: Scatter plots for (A) the relation between maximum pathologic axial diameter of the
fixed primary tumor and the diameter derived from tumor delineation using absolute SUV
value of 3, and (B) the relation between maximum diameter of the pathologic lymph nodes and
the diameter derived from lymph node delineation using absolute SUV value of 2.5. ..............89
Figure 39: ROC analyses of TTLG (A) and NTLG (B) in relation to presence of ECS. The best cutoff values identified were 92.19 and 18.51, respectively. NTLG was significantly more accurate
than TTLG for predicting ECS (P < 0.001)................................................................................90
Figure 40: Local control rate according to the primary tumor TLG ..............................................93
Figure 41: Local control rate according to the presence or absence of bone marrow invasion ....93
Figure 42: Neck control rate according to the neck lymph nodal TLG . ..........................................96
Figure 43: Neck control rate according to the histopathological differentiation.............................96
Figure 44: Distant metastases free survival rate according to the primary tumor TLG. .................99
Figure 45: Distant metastases free survival according to the presence or absence of extra-capsular
spread in the neck lymph nodes of 126 patients with oral cavity cancer...................................99
Figure 46: Disease free survival rate according to the primary tumor TLG..................................102
Figure 47: Disease free survival rate according to the pathologic status of neck lymph nodes.....102
Figure 48: Disease specific survival rate according to the primary tumor TLG............................105
Figure 49: Disease specific survival according to the pathologic status of neck lymph nodes. .....105
Figure 50: Overall survival rate according to the neck lymph nodal SUV.....................................108
Figure 51: Overall survival rate according to the pathologic status of neck lymph nodes. ...........108
Figure 52: Disease free survival rate according to the proposed risk score. .................................116
Figure 53: Disease specific survival rate according to the proposed risk score. ...........................116
Figure 54: Distant metastases free survival rate according to nodal SUV in 40 patients with
positive ECS. ............................................................................................................................118
Figure 55: Disease specific survival rate according to nodal SUV in 40 patients with positive ECS.
..................................................................................................................................................118
List of Tables
List of Tables
Table 1: Common + emitters of clinical importance (118). ............................................................47
Table 2: General Clinical Characteristics of the Study Participants..........................................85
Table 3: General Pathological Characteristics of the Study Participants ..................................86
Table 4: Relation of primary tumor TSUV and TTLG to different pathological characteristics
....................................................................................................................................................91
Table 5: Relation of nodal NSUV and NTLG to different pathological characteristics .............92
Table 6: Univariate analysis of 3-year local control (LC) according to clinical characteristics,
SUV and TLG...........................................................................................................................94
Table 7: Univariate analysis of 3-year local control (LC) according to pathological
characteristics...........................................................................................................................95
Table 8: Univariate analysis of 3-year neck control (NC) according to clinical characteristics,
SUV and TLG...........................................................................................................................97
Table 9: Univariate analysis of 3-year neck control (NC) according to pathological
characteristics...........................................................................................................................98
Table 10: Univariate analysis of 3-year distant metastases free survival (DMFS) according to
clinical characteristics, SUV and TLG.................................................................................100
Table 11: Univariate analysis of 3-year distant metastases free survival (DMFS) according to
pathological characteristics...................................................................................................101
Table 12: Univariate analysis of 3-year disease free survival (DFS) according to clinical
characteristics, SUV and TLG..............................................................................................103
Table 13: Univariate analysis of 3-year disease free survival (DFS) according to pathological
characteristics.........................................................................................................................104
Table 14: Univariate analysis of 3-year disease specific survival (DSS) according to clinical
characteristics, SUV and TLG..............................................................................................106
Table 15: Univariate analysis of 3-year disease specific survival (DSS) according to
pathological characteristics...................................................................................................107
Table 16: Univariate analysis of 3-year overall survival (OS) according to clinical
characteristics, SUV and TLG..............................................................................................109
Table 17: Univariate analysis of 3-year overall survival (OS) according to pathological
characteristics.........................................................................................................................110
Table 18: Univariate analyses of 3-year local control (LC), neck control (NC), distant
metastases free survival (DMFS), disease free survival (DFS), disease specific survival
(DSS) and overall survival (OS) according to clinical data, SUV, TLG, and pathological
characteristics.........................................................................................................................111
Table 19: Multivariate analysis of 3-year local primary tumor control (LC)..........................112
Table 20: Multivariate analysis of 3-year neck control (NC).....................................................112
Table 21: Multivariate analysis of 3-year distant metastases free survival (DMFS)...............113
Table 22: Multivariate analysis of 3-year disease free survival (DFS)......................................113
Table 23: Multivariate analysis of 3-year disease specific survival (DSS) ..............................114
Table 24: Multivariate analysis of 3-year overall survival (OS)................................................114
Table 25: Multivariate analysis of 3-year disease free (DFS) and disease specific survival
(DSS), according to the proposed risk score........................................................................115
Table 26: Some of the characteristics of patients with score 3 ..................................................117
vi
List of Abbreviations
List of Abbreviations
AJCC
AUC
CCRT
CGMH
CI
COX
CRT
CT
CWU
DFS
DICOM
DMFS
DOD
DSS
ECS
EORTC
FDG
FLT
FMISO
FWHM
HIF
HNC
HNSCC
HPV
HR
JD
JD
JO
LC
LGI
LN
LND
MD
MIC
MRI
MS
MTV
MVA
NC
List of Abbreviations
NCCN
NER
ns
NSUV
NTLG
OL
OS
OSCC
PD
PET/CT
PVE
RMT
ROC
ROI
RT
RTOG
S/B Ratio
SCC
SCM
SD
SIL
SOHND
SUV
SUVavg
SUVlean
SUVmax
SUVpeak
TLG
TNM
TSUV
TTLG
UADT
US
UVA
VC
VEGF
VEGF
VOI
WD
WHO
Introduction
Introduction
Oral cancer is the eighth most common cancer worldwide, with epidemiologic
variations between different geographic regions (1). The World Health Organization
(WHO) expects a worldwide rising incidence in the next decades (2).
Surgery is the main stay for resectable oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).
Post-operative radiotherapy (RT) or chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is indicated in the
presence of specific adverse features (3).
Numerous prognostic factors have been identified including clinical,
anatomical and pathological risk factors; however, and in spite of the ready
accessibility of the oral cavity to direct examination, these malignancies still often not
detected until a late stage, and the survival rate for oral cancer has remained
essentially unchanged over the past three decades (4).
The possibility of identifying novel prognostic factors in oral cancer may help
in stratifying different risk groups and personalizing the cancer management process.
Recently, standardized uptake value (SUV), a simplified index of glucose
uptake of the tumor measured from
18
Introduction
Their results set the stage for other groups at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer
Center to study TLG among other parameters in evaluation of lung cancer after
radiation treatment (13) and to predict long-term outcomes in patients with rectal
cancer (14). They found good correlation between TLG with treatment response and
outcomes. TLG also was investigated in patients with esophageal cancer (15, 16), soft
tissue sarcoma (17), osteosarcoma (18) and melanoma (19), with encouraging results.
The potential prognostic role of baseline SUV and TLG measured at the
primary tumor and neck lymph nodes has not been studied in patients with OSCC.
Review of literature
Lips
The lip begins at the junction of the vermillion border, which marks the
beginning of the red transitional zone between the skin and the mucous membrane of
the lip, and includes only the vermillion surface (that portion of the lip that comes
into contact with the opposing lip). It is well defined into an upper and lower lip
joined at the commissures of the mouth (20).
Beneath the lip skin is a layer of subcutaneous tissue with many muscles,
nerves, and vessels. This subcutaneous tissue lies just superficial to the orbicularis
oris muscle, which forms the main bulk of the lips. Deep to that muscle are numerous
labial salivary glands, each with a small duct penetrating the mucosal membrane. The
Review of literature
mucosal membrane forms a superior and inferior midline fold connecting to the
alveolar gingiva, forming the superior and inferior labial frenulum (21).
Cancer of the lip carries a low metastatic risk and initially involves adjacent
submental and submandibular nodes, then jugular nodes.(20)
II.
tongue that extends from the line of circumvallate papillae to the undersurface of the
tongue at the junction of the floor of the mouth. It is composed of four areas: the tip,
the lateral borders, the dorsum, and the undersurface (non-villous ventral surface of
the tongue) (20).
The tongue is formed of complex mixture of various intrinsic and extrinsic
muscles. Intrinsic muscles are made up by longitudinal, transverse, vertical, and
oblique fibers, which are not connected with any structure outside the tongue. The
tongue is sagittally divided in two halves by the fatty midline lingual septum. The
extrinsic muscles have their origin external to the tongue and include the
genioglossus (chin), hyoglossus (hyoid bone), and styloglossus (styloid process)
muscles. Both intrinsic and extrinsic muscles of the tongue receive their innervation
from the (XII) hypoglossus nerve except palatoglossus muscle, which is innervated
by the pharyngeal branch of vagus nerve (X). Sensory fibers are carried by the lingual
nerve, a branch of the (V) mandibular nerve (Figure 2) (23).
5
Review of literature
The lymphatic drainage of the tongue can be grouped into three groups:
l The tip drains to the submental then jugulo-digastric (JD) nodes
l The anterior two-thirds and lateral borders drain to the submental and
submandibular nodes and thence again to the JD and other lower nodes of the
deep cervical chain along the carotid sheath
l The posterior one-third drains to the upper nodes of the deep cervical chain.
There is a little anastomosis across the midline between the lymphatics of the
anterior two-thirds of the tongue, in contrast to the posterior one third (Figure 3).
2.
alveolar ridge to the undersurface of the tongue. Its posterior boundary is the base of
anterior pillar of the tonsil (20).
It is composed of the extrinsic muscles of the tongue along with the mylohyoid
and geniohyoid muscles. The mylohyoid muscle forms a sling that serves as the main
supporting structure. The posterior free edge of the mylohyoid muscle provides a
pathway for both neoplastic and infectious processes to extend from the sublingual
space (situated above the mylohyoid muscle) to the submandibular space (situated
6
Review of literature
below the mylohyoid muscle) and vice versa (Figures 4, 5, 6). No fascial margin
separates the posterior submandibular space and sublingual space from the inferior
parapharyngeal space. The major lymphatic drainage of the floor of the mouth is to
the submental, submandibular, and/or internal jugular nodes (levels 1 and 2).
3.
lips from the line of contact of the opposing lips to the line of attachment of mucosa
to the alveolar ridge (upper and lower) and pterygomandibular raphe (20).
Review of literature
Figure 4: Coronal
section in the floor of
the mouth (24).
Figure 5: Schematic
diagram showing the
deep spaces of the face
on the right and some
of their contents on the
left (25).
Review of literature
compartment, bounded by the superficial layer of deep cervical fascia, and contains,
in addition, the pterygoid muscles and posterior body and ramus of the mandible. The
temporo-mandibular joint (TMJ) lies in the upper part of the masticator space (26).
4.
posterior surface of the last mandibular molar tooth postero-medially by the anterior
tonsillar pillar, and laterally by the buccal mucosa. Its apex superiorly is attached to
the pterygoid hamulus. The mucosa of the retromolar trigone is separated from the
adjacent ascending mandibular ramus by the buccal fat pad (Figure 7) (26). Hence;
tumors should be carefully assessed for bone involvement as there is minimal tissue
between the overlying mucosa and eriostemon of the mandible (21).
5.
mandible inferiorly. The upper alveolar ridge refers to the mucosa overlying the
alveolar process of the maxilla while the lower alveolar ridge refers to the mucosa
overlying the alveolar process of the mandible (20).
Review of literature
Figure 6: A coronal image through the cheek showing the mucosa, muscle, fat pad,
masseter, and a cross-section of the tongue and floor of mouth (21).
Figure 7: Trans-oral view of the alveolar ridge, retromolar region, and mandible of
the left side of the oral cavity (21).
10
Review of literature
6.
Hard Palate
This is the semilunar area between the upper alveolar ridge and mucous
membrane covering the palatine process of the maxillary palatine bones. It extends
11
Review of literature
from the inner surface of the superior alveolar ridge to the posterior edge of the
palatine bone (20).
The bony structure of the hard palate, which consists of the horizontal portions
of the palatine bones and the palatine processes of the maxillae, is covered with
periosteum that is tightly adherent to the overlying mucosa (21).
Cancers of the hard palate and alveolar ridge have a low metastatic potential
and involve buccinator, submandibular, jugular, and occasionally retropharyngeal
nodes (20).
Review of literature
the first physical finding to suggest an otherwise clinically silent tongue tumor
(Figure 9) (28).
Review of literature
nodes in the lateral aspect of the neck into five nodal groups or levels. In addition,
lymph nodes in the central compartment of the neck are assigned levels VI and VII:
Level I: Contains the submental and submandibular triangles bounded by the
posterior belly of the digastric muscle, the hyoid bone inferiorly, and the body of the
mandible superiorly.
Level II: Contains the upper jugular lymph nodes and extends from the level
of the skull base superiorly to the hyoid bone inferiorly.
Level III: Contains the middle jugular lymph nodes from the hyoid bone
superiorly to the cricothyroid membrane inferiorly.
Level IV: Contains the lower jugular lymph nodes from the cricothyroid
membrane superiorly to the clavicle inferiorly.
Level V: Contains the lymph nodes in the posterior triangle bounded by the
anterior border of the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle anteriorly and the clavicle
inferiorly. For descriptive purposes, level V may be further subdivided into upper,
middle, and lower levels corresponding to the superior and inferior planes that define
levels II, III, and IV.
Level VI: Contains the lymph nodes of the anterior compartment from the
hyoid bone superiorly to the suprasternal notch inferiorly. They lie between the
medial borders of the carotid sheaths.
Level VII: Contains the lymph nodes inferior to the suprasternal notch in the
upper mediastinum (28).
14
Review of literature
15
Review of literature
Epidemiology of OSCC
Incidence
Oral cancer holds the eighth position in the cancer incidence ranking
worldwide, with epidemiologic variations between different geographic regions (1).
The World Health Organization expects a worldwide rising OSCC incidence in the
next decades (2). In the US, OSCC represents 2-4% of the annually diagnosed
malignancies, being responsible for 8,000 deaths every year (31). In some western
European countries, such as Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Portugal, and Scotland,
there has been an upward trend in the incidence of OSCC. Increasing mortality rates
have been observed for at least two decades in Eastern Europe, where OSCC
comprises a real public health issue (32).
16
Review of literature
According to the National Cancer Institute in Egypt, oral cavity cancer (and
pharynx) represented 5.5% of the newly diagnosed cancer cases in 2002-2003 (704
male and 311 female cases) (33).
In Taiwan, OSCC is currently ranked fourth in cancer incidence and fifth in
cancer mortality among Taiwanese men (34).
Mortality rate from oral cancer has increased significantly, from 4.25 per 100
000 in 1995 to 9.6 per 100 000 in 2006, a 2.26-fold increase in the past decade (35).
Endemic use of betel quid chewing in Taiwan may account for the different
subsite distribution of oral cancer observed in this study. Approximately 40-50% of
oral cavity cancers in our series originated from buccal and retromolar areas (34).
Risk Factors
The development of oral squamous cell cancer (OSCC) is a multistep process
involving the accumulation of multiple genetic alterations modulated by genetic predisposition and environmental influences such as tobacco and alcohol use, chronic
inflammation, and viral infections. The alterations mostly affect two large groups of
genes: oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, which can be either inactivated or
over-expressed through mutations, loss of heterozygosity, deletions, or epigenetic
modifications such as methylation (36).
Most published reports indicate that age, gender, race, tobacco use, alcohol use
(especially tobacco and alcohol in combination), presence of a synchronous cancer of
the upper aerodigestive track, poor nutritional status, and infection with certain
viruses, all increase the relative risk for developing an oral cancer. Exposure to some
of these extrinsic risk factors varies significantly between ethnic groups and
geographic locations globally and regionally.
1.
Age
More than half of all oral cancer is diagnosed in individuals over the age of 65;
Review of literature
younger patients (37-39). In Taiwan, the peak incident rate in the period from 1989 to
1993 was for people aged 5059 years, but this shifted to 4049 years between 1993
and 2000. A similar trend was also found in the mortality rate (35).
2.
Gender
Incidence rate for oral cancer is between two and four times higher for men
than women for all racial/ethnic groups except for Filipinos where the rates are
similar for the two genders (40).
A study analyzing 703 OSCC patients between 1985 and 1996 in southern
Taiwan found a 51:1 male-to-female ratio (41). This gender difference may be
explained by the lower proportion of betel quid chewing habits in females. Concerns
about the disfiguring effects of areca quid chewing (including red staining of lips and
teeth and foul-smelling breath) are frequently reported by females, which may
account for sex differences in HNC prevalence (35).
3.
Race
When compared with the United States, higher rates of oral cancer have been
reported in India, Southeast Asia, Hungary, and northern France. Lower OSCC
incidence rates are reportedly found in Mexico and Japan 3.
HNC is highly prevalent in South-east Asia, comprising 3540% of all
malignancies in India, compared with approximately 9% in Taiwan and 24% in
Western countries 5.
Before age 55, oral cancer is the sixth most common cancer in white men but is
the fourth most common cancer in black men (40).
4.
assess the patient for the presence of another primary malignancy of the associated
structures. Several researchers have reported that patients with an OSCC have a
greater risk for a synchronous or metachronous malignancy of the upper
aerodigestive track (42, 43).
18
Review of literature
5.
Tobacco
Depending on the product, tobacco contains more than 50 established or
potential carcinogens that may increase relative risks for cancers by differing
mechanisms (e.g. causing mutations that disrupt cell cycle regulation or through an
effect on the immune system).
The risk of developing OSCC is five to nine times greater for smokers than for
nonsmokers, and this risk may increase to as much as 17 times greater for extremely
heavy smokers of 80 or more cigarettes per day. In addition, treated oral cancer
patients who continue to smoke have a two to six times greater risk of developing a
second malignancy of the upper aerodigestive tract than those who stop smoking (4).
Beginning smoking at a younger age increases the risk for developing an oral
mucosal squamous cell carcinoma.
Smoking bidis, which are small hand-rolled cigarettes very famous in India and
other Asian countries, is another significant risk factor (28).
The greatest risk for several forms of OSCC is found with reverse smoking,
which is to keep the lit end of the cigar or cigarette in the mouth. This form of
smoking is frequently found in India, southeastern Asia, some parts of Africa, and
central and South America. It creates a more severe heat-related alteration of the
palatal mucosa known as reverse smokers palate (Figure 16), which has been
associated with a significant risk of malignant transformation (44).
Figure
11:
Palatal
lesion
associated with reverse smoking.
Note the crate-like ulcerated areas
covered with fibrin (45).
19
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Alcohol
Alcohol abuse seems to be the second largest risk factor (after smoking
tobacco) for developing OSCC. A strong correlation exists between excessive alcohol
consumption, cirrhosis of the liver, and oral/pharyngeal cancers. Nutritional
deficiencies associated with heavy alcohol consumption also increase the relative risk
for developing OSCC. In studies controlled for smoking, moderate-to-heavy drinkers
have been shown to have a three to nine times greater risk of developing oral cancer
(50).
The relationship between oral cancer and alcohol consumption seems to be
independent of the type of alcohol consumed and is associated more directly with the
amount of ethanol consumed and the length of time that alcohol has been used.
Patients who are both heavy smokers and heavy drinkers can have over one hundred
times greater risk for developing a malignancy (51).
A cumulative effect from chewing betel quid (which is a traditional habit in
some parts of Asia, and consists of betel leaf wrapped around a mixture of areca nut
and slaked lime usually with tobacco), alcohol drinking and tobacco smoking has
been observed, with a 123-fold increased risk of oral cancer when the three risk
factors are present (52).
20
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7.
Viruses
Although great progress has been seen over the last few decades, the
8.
Miscellaneous
Dietary factors, such as a low intake of fruits and vegetables, may also be
21
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22
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(A)
(B)
Figure 12: Oral leukoplakia: (A) Gross picture showing numerous lesions that have
become virtually confluent. (B) Microscopic picture showing marked epithelial
thickening and hyperkeratosis
Sometimes OL occurs in combination with adjacent red patches or
erythroplakia. If the red and white areas are intermixed, the lesion is called a
speckled leukoplakia or speckled erythroplakia or erythroleukoplakia which is
23
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believed to carry relatively increased risk for dysplasia and malignant transformation
(14-52%) (4).
Proliferative verrucous hyperplasia (PVL) is a special type of OL with a
proven high risk of becoming malignant. The diagnosis is made retrospectively after
evidence of a progressive clinical course, accompanied by a particular deterioration
in histological changes. It appears most frequently in the buccal mucosa, followed by
the gingiva (Figure 12), tongue, and floor of the mouth. A mean time of 7.7 years
was found from the diagnosis of PVL to cancer development in 70.3% of patients
(64). The treatment of PVL continues to be an unsolved problem with high rates of
recurrence, since total excision is rarely possible because of the widespread growth
(61).
Figure
13:
Proliferative
verrucous
leukoplakia involving the buccal gingiva (4).
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older men. The floor of mouth, lateral tongue, retromolar area, and soft palate are the
most common sites of involvement.
It represents a red, velvety, possibly eroded area within the oral cavity that
usually remains level with or may be slightly depressed in relation to the surrounding
mucosa. The epithelial changes in such lesions tend to be markedly atypical,
incurring a up to 50% risk of malignant transformation (65).
3.
Nicotine Stomatitis
Nicotine stomatitis is a thickened, hyperkeratotic alteration of the palatal
mucosa, sometimes developing a fissured surface (Figure 13); the changes are
caused by the intense heat generated from pipe and cigar smoking (4).
25
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buccal mucosa (35). The development of squamous cell carcinoma has been noted in
as many as one third of patients with submucous fibrosis (66).
5.
people who practice snuffing or chewing smokeless tobacco. True epithelial dysplasia
is uncommon (4).
II.
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G3: poorly-differentiated
G4: undifferentiated
As a group, they tend to infiltrate locally before they metastasize to other sites,
and the tumor depth considered one of the most important prognosticators. The routes
of extension depend on the primary site. Favored sites of metastasis are mediastinal
lymph nodes, lungs, liver, and bones. Unfortunately, such distant metastases are often
occult at the time of discovery of the primary lesion (65).
Any part of the oral mucosa can be the site of development of squamous cell
carcinomas. The common oral locations can show wide variations in different
geographical areas depending on the prevalent risk factors (22).
1.
Lip
Lip carcinomas account for 25% to 30% of all oral cancers. They appear most
commonly in patients between 50 and 70 years of age and affect men much more
often than women. Some components of lipstick may have sunscreen properties and
account, in part, for this finding. Lesions arise on the vermilion and typically appear
as a chronic non-healing ulcer or as an exophytic lesion that is occasionally verrucous
in nature. Deep invasion generally appears later in the course of the disease.
Metastasis to local submental or submandibular lymph nodes is uncommon but is
more likely with larger, more poorly differentiated lesions (66).
From a biologic viewpoint, carcinomas of the lower lip are far more common
than upper lip lesions. UV light and pipe smoking are much more important in the
cause of lower lip cancer than in the cause of upper lip cancer. The growth rate is
slower for lower lip cancers than for upper lip cancers. The prognosis for lower lip
lesions is generally very favorable, with over 90% of patients alive after 5 years. By
contrast, the prognosis for upper lip lesions is considerably worse (66).
27
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2.
Tongue
Globally, the tongue is the most common oral location of SCC and can account
for 25% to 40% of OSCC. It has a definite predilection for men in their sixth,
seventh, and eighth decades (66). The majority affects the middle third of the lateral
border and adjacent ventral surface. Lingual tumors are often exophytic and
ulceration is common. Even clinically small tumors can infiltrate deeply into the
underlying muscle. With progressive growth, tumors become indurated and
frequently develop characteristic rolled, raised, everted margins. Infiltration of the
lingual musculature may cause pain, dysphagia and dysphonia (22).
Half of patients have regional lymph node metastases at presentation. Tumors
towards the tip of the tongue drain to the submental and thence to the jugulo-digastric
lymph node, and those located on the dorsum and lateral borders tend to involve the
submandibular and jugulo-digastric nodes (22) Contralateral or bilateral spread is
relatively common; however, growths more than 12mm from the midline usually do
not metastasize to the opposite side of the neck till late in the disease (24).
3.
accounting for 15% to 20% of cases. It occurs predominantly in older men, especially
those who are chronic alcoholics and smokers. The usual presenting appearance is
that of a painless, non-healing, indurated ulcer (66); however, this site shows the
highest frequency of small and symptomless tumors (22). It is more frequent in the
anterior segment and tends to spread superficially rather than deeply; occasionally the
lesion may infiltrate deeply in the soft tissues, causing decreased mobility of the
tongue. Involvement of the submandibular duct can cause obstructive sialadenitis
(22). It tends to metastasize early to submandibular lymph nodes (66).
28
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4.
Buccal Mucosa
Although buccal cancer is not common in Western Countries, it forms the
or ulcerated and fixed to the underlying bone. They account for about 20% of oral
tumors. In parts of the USA there is a very high frequency in women who practice
snuff dipping. Related teeth are often loosened and there is extension along the
periodontal ligament. On the alveolus tumors can resemble simple lesions like
denture-induced hyperplasia or denture-related ulceration. The underlying bone may
be eroded or invaded in 50% of patients and regional metastases are seen in over half
the patients at presentation (22).
6.
the tonsillar area. They can penetrate into the para-pharyngeal area and may show
extensive spread along the lingual and inferior alveolar nerves. In addition, tumors
frequently erode or invade the adjacent mandible (22).
29
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7.
Hard Palate
This is a relatively uncommon site of involvement except in areas where
reverse smoking is common. Tumors at this site can be exophytic or ulcerative, but
tend to spread superficially rather than deeply (22).
III.
30
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33
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Stage Grouping
Stage 0 : Tis, N0, M0
Stage I :
T1, N 0, M 0
Stage II :
T2, N 0, M 0
34
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Diagnosis of OSCC
National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines recommend the
following procedures for the staging work-up:
Biopsy
Chest X-ray
CT with contrast and/or MRI with contrast of primary and neck as indicated
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For tumors amenable to transoral biopsy, such as those in the oral cavity,
biopsy may be performed using local anesthetics in the clinic. Otherwise direct
laryngoscopy under anesthesia is performed to determine the extent of the tumor and
to obtain a tissue diagnosis (68).
Before initial treatment, the patient should be evaluated by members of the
team who may be involved in the initial management as well as possible salvage
therapy. Head and neck surgeons, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists,
diagnostic radiologists, plastic surgeons, pathologists, dentists, speech and
swallowing therapists, and social workers may all play a role. The treatment options
are discussed and recommendations are presented to the patient who makes the final
decision (68).
36
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including
induction/neoadjuvant;
concurrent
with
radiation;
and/or
Lip
Early lesions may be cured equally well with surgery or radiation. Surgical
excision is preferred for the majority of lower lip lesions up to 2 cm in diameter that
37
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do not involve the commissure; the treatment is simple and the cosmetic result is
satisfactory (68).
Removal of more of the lip with simple closure usually results in a poor
cosmetic and functional result and therefore requires reconstructive procedures.
Irradiation is often preferred for lesions involving the commissure, for lesions over 2
cm in length, and for upper lip carcinomas. Advanced lesions with bone, nerve, or
node involvement frequently require a combined approach (68).
The regional lymphatics are not treated electively for early cases. Advanced
lesions, high-grade lesions, and recurrent lesions should be considered for elective
neck treatment (68).
2.
lesions. Most patients are treated surgically because of the risk of soft tissue or bone
necrosis after irradiation (68).
The usual recommendation for moderately advanced anterior midline lesions is
rim resection or segmental mandibulectomy and osteomyocutaneous free flap
reconstruction; postoperative irradiation is added as dictated by the findings in the
specimen. The neck, with clinically negative nodes, is usually managed by bilateral
functional neck dissection for midline lesions (68).
3.
Oral Tongue
A partial glossectomy with primary closure or a skin graft may be done
transorally and is usually the preferred therapy. Depending on the depth of invasion,
an elective neck dissection may be indicated. RT is reserved for cases with adverse
features (68).
The preferred treatment for the majority of patients with T2 or T3 is partial
glossectomy, neck dissection, and postoperative radiotherapy. In contrast, combined
38
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treatment with surgery and radiation therapy may cure very few T4 patients. Most
patients in this category will receive palliative therapy (68).
4.
Buccal Mucosa
Small lesions (1 cm or smaller) may be excised with primary closure; small
lesions that involve the lip commissure are sometimes treated by radiation therapy.
Lesions 2 to 3 cm in size can be treated with surgery or by radiation therapy, usually
the former. Larger lesions are usually treated with surgery and postoperative
radiotherapy (68).
5.
Lower Gum
The majority of lesions are managed by operation. Postoperative irradiation
6.
Retromolar Trigone
Surgery is preferred for discrete early lesions. Radiation therapy is
39
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Gender
Most published data showed no prognostic differences between females and
males (71-74); however, a Brazilian study reported lower survival rates in females,
which might be attributed to delay in seeking medical care and lower acceptance of
treatment (75).
2.
Age
The prognostic role of age is rather controversial. Many studies showed no age
difference in prognosis (71, 73). Old age (> 50 years) was linked to worse prognosis
in some reports (76-78), but that seems to be related to co morbid disease rather than
age itself. Reports showing the bad prognosis in young age (< 40 years) have been
published (37-39, 79, 80).
3.
Swedish case-control study identified smoking and alcohol as risk factors for OSCC.
Also they showed that female smokers have a greater risk for recurrence than male
smokers at any level of tobacco consumption (81).
Smokers and alcohol drinkers seem to be at higher risk for the development of
second primary oral cancer than nonsmokers and nondrinkers, thus facing more
onerous outcomes (42).
40
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4.
factor for poor local control. Lo et al (74) reported about 20% higher relative risk of
death in this category, which is increased up to 5 times with drinking alcohol and
smoking cigarettes.
5.
Miscellaneous Factors:
Poor oral hygiene, depressed host immunity, comorbid chronic conditions and
weight loss have been associated with bad prognosis (82, 83) (84-86). However, there
is no consensus on which comorbidity index should be used and how this data may
complement the current TNM staging system (87-89).
II.
Site:
Different tumor subsites carry different implications in prognosis. Lip cancer is
generally readily curable compared with malignancies at other head and neck sites
(90). Tiwari (91) reported poorer prognosis in superior gingivolabial sulcus tumors,
because cancer at this location has high propensity for lymphatic spread especially
with the involvement of the parapharyngeal and retropharyngeal lymph nodes which
makes surgical therapy difficult and prognosis is often poor. Reports on buccal cancer
prognosis were controversial. Sieczka et al (92) suggested the use of definitive and
vigorous treatment, not only for the more advanced buccal squamous cell cancers, but
for early lesions as well. They considered the typical disease markers (T-stage and
histologic margin) not to be wholly reliable indicators of success with surgical
treatment. Comparable results were reported by others (93). However, these results
were challenged by other authors (71, 94). In a series of 276 patients, Liao et al (71)
reported a 5-year local control rate and disease specific survival of 86% & 78%
41
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respectively. It worth noting that buccal cancers represent about 10% in Europe and
USA, while it is considered the most common subsite in India and Southern Asia and
regarded as having favorable prognosis. Hence, the interpretation of the prognostic
data is difficult because the effects of differences in staging and treatment approaches
in addition to varying tumor behavior and presentations in different regions of the
world.
2.
Stage:
OSCC staging is based on TNM system. The vast majority of authors accept
that disease staging has a crucial influence on the outcome (95). Lo et al. described 5year survival rates of 75%, 65.6%, 49%, and 30% for disease stages I, II, III, and IV,
respectively (74).
The presence of cervical lymph node metastasis is the single most adverse
independent prognostic factor in HNSCC. Cervical node metastases may be classified
into 2 distinct categories: overt (clinical) or non-overt (occult, subclinical). The latter
may be even subpathological or submicroscopic metastases, which is detectable
only by immunohistochemical and/or molecular analysis of the dissected lymph
nodes. It is yet to be determined what is the clinical impact of detecting these
submicroscopic occult lymph node (96). The incidence of occult metastases varies
according to T-stage and ranges from 13% for T1 to 46% for T4 (97).
3.
Tumor Thickness:
The risk of nodal metastases, ECS and mortality rates vary directly with the
thickness of the primary tumor and may be more important than clinical and
pathological staging (98, 99). However, the cut-off marking decimal prognosis varies
between studies. Huang et al, in their meta-analysis, considered a 4-mm tumor
thickness to be predictive of nodal metastases and recommended prophylactic
management (100). In another meta-analysis (101), a cut-off from 3 up to 10 mm was
linked to poor progression free and overall survivals. This report especially
42
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Extracapsular Spread:
Extracapsular spread (ECS) is indicted when irregular nodal boundaries,
infiltration of adjacent fat planes, thickening of adjacent fascia, and apparent invasion
of adjacent structures are present. CT has been shown to be more specific in
determining extracapsular spread and remains the study of choice for evaluating neck
disease (102).
ECS was noted in the majority of the lymph nodes larger than 3 cm and in
about 40% of clinically and up to 16% of clinically N0 patients (103).
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ECS was significantly higher with large primary tumor size (> 4 cm), poor
differentiation, close and involved surgical margins and positive perineural invasion
(103).
In1971, Bennet et al. showed that aerodigestive tumors with ECS indicate a
poor prognosis (104). Since that time, it has been widely documented that patients
with OSCC & ECS have a high risk of regional recurrence and distant metastasis, and
hence, reduced survival (105). According to NCCN guidelines, the presence of ECS
is an indication for post-operative RT or chemoradiation (69). Some authors try to
stratify the risk within the patients with OSCC and ECS. Liao et al. found that within
all the patients with OSCC and ECS, those with level IV/V metastases appear to have
the worst prognoses (5-year DFS, DSS, and OS rates were 14%, 12%, 10%) (72).
5.
Histologic Differentiation:
Most authors have established significant correlations between lower histologic
differentiation and poorer prognosis (71, 74, 83) but others did not find such
association (75).
6.
Perineural Invasion:
Perineural invasion apparently correlates with higher probability of regional
and distant metastases, higher depth of tumor invasion, lower differentiation, and
lower 5-year survival rates in OSCC (106, 107).
7.
Angiogenesis:
The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a key component in tumor
angiogenesis, and 4 subtypes have been described (A, B, C, and D). Recently
Shintani et al. described its expression in OSCC, correlating subtypes A and B with
tumor angiogenesis and subtypes C and D with the risk of nodal metastases (108).
Marked angiogenesis correlated well with the risk of nodal metastases and it is
considered an independent predictor of tumor recurrence (109).
44
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8.
positive tumors had a 60% reduction in risk of death from cancer and significantly
improved disease-specific survival when compared patients with HPV-negative
tumors (110). Schwartz et al. also found a strong association between the presence of
HPV-16 DNA in OSCC and prolonged survival (111). These findings support the
theory that HPV-positive OSSC may represent a distinct molecular, biologic, and
clinical identity.
III.
Resection Margin:
The surgical resection margin is considered clear or free when the distance
from the invasive tumor front that is 5 mm or more from the resected margin (69).
A strong correlation has been demonstrated between a resection margin free of
disease and higher survival rates (112). It was reported that the 5-year DSS of
patients with a positive margin was poorer by 12% than for those patients with a
negative margin (113). Close margins (45 mm) may represent risk factors for local
tumor control, and that patients with close margins should receive adjuvant therapy
(114).
2.
Post-operative Chemoradiation:
The role of chemotherapy in the postoperative management of the patient with
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100 mg/m2 every 3 weeks for 3 doses (115). The European Organisation for
Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) trial was designed using the same
treatment but also included as high-risk factors the presence of perineural or
perivascular disease and nodal involvement at levels 4 and 5 from an oral cavity or
oropharynx cancer (116). The RTOG trial demonstrated statistically significant
improvement in locoregional control and disease-free survival but not overall
survival, whereas the EORTC trial found significant improvement in survival and the
other outcome parameters. Both the RTOG and EORTC trials use high-dose cisplatin
(100 mg/m2 every 3 weeks).
To better define risk, a combined analysis of prognostic factors and outcome
from the 2 trials was performed. This analysis demonstrated that patients in both
trials with ECS of tumor and/or positive resection margins benefited from the
addition of cisplatin to postoperative radiotherapy. For those with multiple involved
regional nodes without extracapsular spread, there was no survival advantage (117).
3.
46
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PET Imaging
Positron emission tomography (PET) is a powerful metabolic imaging
technique utilizing possibly many radiopharmaceuticals; however the mostcommonly used one is
18
PET Radiopharmaceuticals
There are several positron-emitting radioisotopes that have been used for PET
imaging (Table 1). A medical cyclotron can be used to produce C-11, N-13, O-15,
and F-18, and then various labeling techniques are applied. Fluorine, the fourth entry
in the table, is the most commonly used one (118).
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48
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an inverted "U" on the midline sagittal view (Figure 20), within which three more
prominent foci of uptake are seen:
The first is the most prominent and caused by the sublingual glands and hyoid
muscle (mylohoid) insertions on the mandible (Figure 21).
The second is formed by uptake in the soft palate, as well as the opposed
surface of the tongue. This is shown axially in (Figure 22).
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The third focus of more prominent uptake is a result of uptake within the
lingual tonsil and the base of the tongue (Figure 21) (Burrell and Van den
Abbeele; 2005).
Uptake in the tonsils can be particularly prominent in children and in adults
Figure
21:
Most
prominent uptake in the
sublingual glands and
mylhyoid
muscle
insertions (122).
50
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2.
and neck; some of this uptake is also within brown fat (123).
Uptake in the sternocleidomastoid muscle and at muscular insertion sites into
the occipital bone is commonly seen (Figure 24). Also, uptake in the trapezius,
intercostal muscles may be seen (124).
Figure 24: Focal uptake at insertion of muscles into the occipital bone. Uptake is
also seen in the sternocleidomastoid muscles (SCM) and parotid glands (124).
Intense
asymmetric
FDG
uptake
can
also
be
seen
within
the
sternocleidomastoid muscle (Figure 25) and can mimic an enlarged lymph node
(125).
51
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52
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3.
Laryngeal Uptake
A horizontal band of uptake corresponding to the base of the vocalis muscles
or the transverse arytenoid muscle is frequently seen. Two discrete foci are seen
posteriorly, corresponding with the convergence of the various arytenoid muscles.
The appearance vocal cords is quite variable, however normal uptake should be
relatively symmetric (Figure 27) (122).
4.
Osseous Uptake
In bones composed predominantly of cortical bone, such as the skull, mandible
and maxilla, FDG uptake is virtually absent. In bones containing a large proportion of
marrow, mild-to-moderate FDG uptake is typically seen (e.g. the vertebral bodies)
(122). Discrete foci of uptake within the maxilla and mandible are frequently seen
(Figure 28), almost invariably because of periodontal/dental disease (127).
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5.
Orbits
Within the orbits, uptake is frequently seen at the apex as a result of uptake at
the convergence of the extra-ocular muscles. Uptake may also be seen throughout the
length of the extra-ocular muscles (127).
6.
Thyroid gland
Observable uptake in 34% of patients undergoing PET imaging for non-thyroid
malignancies was detected. Diffuse thyroid uptake may indicate Graves disease or
thyroiditis, although it can also be seen in clinically euthyroid patients
Focal thyroid uptake is relatively nonspecific (Figure 29) and has been
reported in benign entities such as toxic thyroid adenoma as well as in thyroid
malignancies (126).
(A)
(B)
Figure 29: (A) Hypermetabolic thyroid adenoma at the left lobe; (B) Hrthle
cell carcinoma at the right lobe (126).
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7.
Thymus
Benign uptake in the thymus is frequently seen in children and young adults. It
Salivary Glands
Mild-to-moderate FDG uptake is usually seen within all salivary glands
(Figure 30).
(A)
(B)
Figure 30:
Physiologic uptake in
the parotid (A) and
submandibular glands
(B) (126).
contracting or tensed during the uptake phase (e.g., in anxious or talkative patients,
excessive cough.. etc) may lead to false-positive findings and symmetry alone is not a
reliable indicator of physiologic processes (129). However, combined PET/CT allows
direct correlation of FDG uptake with anatomic structures to reduce false positive
results (130).
2.
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3.
This inflammation may result in increased glycolysis and therefore be associated with
increased FDG uptake (132).
(B)
Figure 32: Dental abscess in a patient with history of squamous cell carcinoma of the
left side of the tongue base. (A) CT scan shows no abnormality in the alveolar ridge
of maxilla (B) PET-CT scan shows a focal area of intense FDG uptake in the site of
infected tooth (arrow) (130).
4.
most obvious in the region of the hypopharynx, and decreased uptake within the bone
marrow and finally. Increased uptake within the salivary glands is frequently seen
(122).
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(B)
(C)
Figure 29: Residual neoplasm after treating a squamous cell carcinoma of the right
side of the tongue base and neck.
(A) PET-CT scan obtained 3 12 weeks after radiation therapy shows linear, intensely
increased FDG uptake in the right side of the neck (arrow), and interpreted as
treatment-related changes. (B&C) PET-CT scans obtained 4 months later show
globular increased FDG uptake in the same location (arrow), as well as increased
FDG uptake anteriorly (C) (130).
5.
Also necrotic neoplasms and lymph nodes may yield false-negative results (130).
Recent high-dose steroid therapy as well as hyperglycemia and hyper-insulinemia
may affect the tumor avidity for FDG (120).
6.
PET/CT Artifacts
a.
Metal Artifacts
Metallic devices, including dental implants, create areas of photopenia on PET
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b.
Contrast Material
Dense contrast material is present in venous structures during CT but not
during the PET portion of the examination. This mismatch causes areas of linear
artifact (mimicking intense FDG accumulation) on the attenuation-corrected PET
scans. Occasionally, this artifact can appear focal and mimic a metastatic lymph node
in the axilla or supraclavicular area (Figure 33). A relatively simple means of
resolving any diagnostic uncertainty regarding the presence of a CT-based
attenuation artifact is inspection of the raw uncorrected emission data (134).
(A)
(B)
(C)
Truncation Artifacts
Truncation artifacts in PET/CT are due to the difference in size of the field of
view between the CT and PET tomographs. These artifacts are frequently seen in
large patients or patients scanned with arms down, such as in the case of head and
neck indications (Figure 61). It results in absence of attenuation correction values for
the truncated region in the PET emission data, hence introducing a bias on the PET
attenuation-corrected images that underestimates the standardized uptake values in
these regions. Truncation also produces streaking artifacts at the edge of the CT
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Qualitative Assessment
Qualitative assessment involves simple visual analysis of a static scan by the
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Although the technique is relatively well cited, it has not been incorporated in
any of the known guidelines for FDG PET tumor imaging (120, 153), also there is
lack of homogeneity in published literature regarding the optimal time of second
phase, and the exact methodology for objective assessment of its results.
II.
Quantitative Assessment
Full quantitative data from PET scans necessitates the use of dynamic scanning
with complex kinetic analysis, which seems more appropriate for drug development
trials rather than clinical work (154).
III.
Semi-quantitative Assessment
Semiquantitative indices include standardized uptake values (SUVs) in
different formats, and recently metabolic tumor volumes have been used. There is
general agreement that semiquantitative techniques are superior to qualitative
assessment alone in -at least- monitoring treatment response and are probably
sufficient for routine clinical work (136, 137, 155).
1.
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the size and placement in the ROI (131). However, SUVmax is highly dependent on
the statistical quality of the images and the size of the maximal pixel (157).
However, the SUV is affected by multiple factors that include time interval
between FDG administration and scanning, size of the ROI used to make the SUV
calculation, serum glucose level, extravasation of radiotracer which alters wholebody distribution, and patient obesity (11). Another major problem is the partial
volume effect (PVE), which simply indicates that some portions of a tomographic
image containing part of one anatomic structure and part of another, mixed together,
so that there might be spill-in from a nearby active uptake or spill-out from the
source or target lesion itself and hence part of its activity is seen outside, leading to
mis-identification of tumor border. This effect typically occurs whenever the tumor
size is less than 3 times the system resolution full width at half maximum (FWHM)
of the reconstructed image resolution(158).
The SUV is usually normalized to body weight, but lean body mass and body
surface area are being used as well. It has been advocated that SUV normalized to
body surface area might be more appropriate during longitudinal studies in case of
weight loss during therapy (136, 137, 155, 159, 160). The most accurate method for
SUV normalization is still a matter of debate, but the method should be standardized
for follow-up and multicenter trials.
ROI selection is a key aspect of determining tumor SUV. A wide variety of
SUV ROI selection metrics has been used: manually defined ROIs; irregular
isocontour ROIs based on a fixed percentage of the SUVmax in the tumor (e.g., 41%,
50%, 70%, 75%, or 90% of the maximum); irregular isocontour ROIs based on a
fixed SUV threshold (e.g., SUV 2.5, SUV 3); irregular isocontour ROIs based on a
background-level threshold (e.g., relevant background + 23 standard deviations
[SDs]) (156).
62
Review of literature
2.
and Ginsberg in their published work in 1999, and they named it Larson Ginsberg
Index (LGI) (12). It was defined as Average SUV of the lesion times the metabolic
tumor volume (MTV). The main objectives of measuring the uptake within the
whole volume, rather than a single pixel value in case of SUVmax, is to overcome
tumor heterogeneity and better assess the gross tumor.
The major obstacle to the wide implementation of TLG is the method used to
measure the MTV. PET images are fuzzy and the exact tumor border is hard to
delineate (161). Broadly, two main approaches were employed for segmenting the
PET images that is to identify tumor border from non-tumor; visual segmentation
method and automatic and semi-automatic segmentation methods.
A.
B.
Review of literature
cannot differentiate physiological and inflammatory uptake from tumor uptake (161,
164).
Although there are many different methods for image segmentation e.g.
thresholding, region growing, clustering, Markov Random Fields modeling, edgedetection methods, and statistical classification methods, but generally four different
approaches were implemented: SUV-based methods, thresholding, background cutoff and source-to-background algorithms.
SUV-Based Contouring
Some authors employ an absolute SUV value to define what is tumor from
what is non-tumor e.g. an SUV of 2.5 (165). However, this method suffers the
problems of SUV itself regarding accuracy and reproducibility.
Thresholding
This method involves outlining the lesion by a regular outline or free
contouring outlines, then applying a given fixed percent intensity level relative to the
maximum activity within the original outline. However, a fixed threshold value in the
commonly reported range of 4050% can lead to significant errors in the volume
estimation and underestimation of large tumors (166, 167).
Background Cut-off
This method involves defining a cut-off with respect to the background and
contouring the region with intensity above the cut-off (e.g. intensity greater than
three standard deviations above the background level). This approach is independent
of heterogeneity of lesional tracer uptake, which could hamper the application of
threshold methods. However, the assessment of activity in the lesion and in the
background and the robustness of the contour definition are strongly affected by
statistical fluctuations and image noise (156).
Source/Background Algorithms
64
Review of literature
It was found that optimum thresholds varied according to the contrast of the
lesion i.e. signal-to-background (S/B) ratios rather than SUV of the lesion (168).
The difference between S/B ratio and SUV is that the S/B reflects the background
specific activity of the local normal tissue, rather than assuming that the activity is
uniformly distributed over the whole body in case of SUV (169). Gradient-based
methods rely on a model that determines the appropriate threshold of activity on the
basis of S/B ratio (170). The determined volumes according to this method were by
far the closest to the reference volume assessed from few surgical laryngectomy
specimens using non-retraction fixation methods (171).
Originally, the volume calculation method adopted by Larson et al (12) was
based on the algorithm developed by Erdi et al (169) to determine the volumes of
metastases to the lung from PET images, under conditions of variable background
activity. In clinical application, the optimum threshold obtained from this method
requires a priori estimation of the lesion volume from anatomic images such as CT
(169).
Although this method seems to be the most encouraging, it is markedly
affected by image noise and reconstruction and a consistent algorithm should be
strictly applied.
65
Review of literature
Staging
1.
Primary Tumor
The precise identification, localization, and delineation of size and anatomic
Review of literature
clinical situations: the detection of bone invasion and the presence of metal artifacts.
Pentenero et al. studied 23 patients and found that PET/CT scan was able to correctly
exclude bone involvement in 3 cases reported by CT and MR to be positive (173).
Goerres et al. studied 34 patients by CE-CT, SPECT/CT and PET/CT. They reported
a negative predictive value (NPV) of 100% for detecting bone invasion by PET/CT in
OSCC (176). Similar results obtained by Babin et al. (177). In a recent study with
larger series of 114 patients, PET/CT was more specific, though less sensitive, than
MRI in detecting bone marrow invasion. It was suggested that PET/CT could be used
to rule out disease (178).
Patients with OSCC frequently have some metal artifacts from dental filling or
prosthesis. It is established that such artifacts can degrade the image quality and
hamper the accurate estimation of tumor extension (179). Baek et al. studied 69
patients with OSCC and dental artifacts by PET/CT, CE-CT and MRI. They found
that PET/CT detected significantly more primary tumors than did CE-CT, but no
difference was noted when compared to MRI (180). Ng et al. prospectively studied
124 patients with OSCC and found that PET could successfully identify the primary
tumor in 122 patients compared to 108 for CT/MRI. Metal artifacts obscured the site
of primary tumors in 7 out of these 16 false negative CT/MRI results (181). Also
Superior contrast resolution of FDG uptake in PET/CT images may be especially
valuable in this subgroup of patients, but large-scale prospective studies are needed to
further establish its exact role and the possible clinical impact.
2.
Review of literature
Review of literature
Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of FDG-PET was 33%, 76%, and 63%,
respectively.
Ng et al also studied 134 patients prospectively by PET and CT/MRI and
found that PET was twice as sensitive as CT/MRI for detecting cervical nodal
metastasis in OSCC patients with palpably negative neck. The probability of still
having occult metastases after PET was reported to be 6.7% for T1, 10.8% in T2
13.3% in T3 and 25% in T4 (97).
Studies comparing the diagnostic accuracy of PET/CT to the conventional
modalities lack consistency in methodology, starting from the PET machines used,
imaging and reconstruction protocols, data interpretation, selecting patients for neck
dissection and also the method of pathological examination and sectioning. PET/CT
seems to have some potential disadvantages. First, PET still has resolution limitations
and is not likely to be able to detect small metastatic nodes. It worth noting that more
than 50% of neck metastases from OSCC is less than 1 cm in diameter. Even with the
newer machines with better resolution, the problem of partial volume effect may still
underestimate SUV value in small lesions and subsequently falsely reported to be
negative. Second, nodal necrosis may cause false-negative findings on PET because
of the low glycolytic activity of the necrotic material. Third, false-positive PET
results may be caused by inflammatory processes in benign lymph nodes (196).
3.
Distant Metastases
The clinical impact of PET as a staging tool partly lies in detecting
Review of literature
coworkers studied patients with advanced HNSCC and found that the addition of
PET to initial staging evaluation resulted in a change in management in
approximately 8% of patients (199).
It has been suggested that routine work-up to detect distant metastases in
patients with HNSCC may not be feasible; however, in advanced stage (III-IV)
disease the probability of distant metastases is relatively high (200) and PET/CT may
be considered (69).
II.
Review of literature
Review of literature
sensitivity of 85% (92% for recurrence or second primaries, 88% for lymph node
failure and 73% for distant metastases). Survival was significantly higher in PET
negative group. SUV > 4 suggested poor prognosis.
The interval between end of treatment and FDG PET study varied considerably
among these reports. Although the optimum time for PET imaging after treatment is
still debated, in most practices PET imaging is usually deferred for 3 to 4 months
after radiation (205, 210).
III.
Furthermore,
SUVmax
was
found
to
correlate
well
with
the
Review of literature
73
Review of literature
74
Review of literature
The importance of neck lymph nodal FDG uptake did attract a lot of
researchers. Liao et al explored the prognostic role of SUV in the metastatic neck
lymph nodes. They could stratify 77 patients with pathological ECS into two groups
according to nodal SUVmax of 5.7. They found that nodal SUVmax is an
independent prognosticator for 5-year neck cancer control (54% for high nodal
SUVmax group vs. 78% for low SUVmax group) and disease-specific survival rates
(39% vs. 61%; respectively) (217). Neck nodal SUV was itself predictive of ECS in a
study done by Kubicek et al, although this work included mainly oropharyngeal and
laryngeal cancers (218).
In another study of 108 patients, who had either early (before 10 months after
initial treatment) or late relapse (after 10 months), Liao and coworkers found that
baseline nodal SUVmax was the only independent risk factor in patients with late
relapse. They recommended surgical salvage either with or without adjuvant therapy
in patients with nodal SUVmax < 4.2 (219).
In a recent larger study with 473 patients conducted in Taiwan by the same
group (190), Liao and coworkers used a qualitative visual scoring system for nodal
uptake, varying from 0 = no uptake, 1 = faint uptake (likely benign), 2 = mild uptake
(equivocal), 3 = moderate uptake (likely malignant), 4 = intense uptake (definitely
malignant). PET score of 2 or more in the neck lymph nodes was independently
associated with rates of neck control, distant metastasis, disease-free survival,
disease-specific survival and overall survival.
Most of the published studies sought to identify high-risk patients based on
mixture of clinical, pathological or therapy factors, instead of using already known
high-risk groups trying to further stratify according to the possible new biological
prognosticators from FDG PET. Also, the results cannot be generalized. Studies
differ in their design, inclusion criteria, PET imaging and processing protocols and
selection of the cut-off value of SUV. All these points limit the inclusion of
prognostic data from PET into prospective multi-center trials.
75
Review of literature
have not been widely studied especially in the head and neck region.
11
C-methionine has high uptake in liver, pancreas, and intestine and is excreted
through the bladder. These characteristics interfere with tumor imaging in the
abdominal region and in the region of the bladder or prostate (220). Although it is
taken by HNSCC, this uptake does not predict neither for outcome (221) nor for
response to radiotherapy (222). However, it might be used to dynamically measure
the salivary gland functions post-irradiation (223).
To date, the most promising radiotracer for imaging cell proliferation is 3 deoxy-30-[18F]fluorothymidine (18F-FLT).
18
11
11
C- and
18
staging of HNSCC (229) and may be useful for imaging tumor perfusion and
oxidative metabolism in patients with HNSCC (230).
76
Review of literature
The first PET agent for imaging hypoxia in tumor was 18F-fluoromisonidazole
(18F-FMISO), which has been studied in patients with a variety of tumors. 18F-FMISO
has relatively low uptake in hypoxic cells and slow clearance from normoxic
background cells (220). Pretherapy FMISO uptake shows a strong trend to be an
independent prognostic measure in HNSCC (231). It was reported that neither the
presence nor the absence of hypoxia, as defined by positive 18F-FMISO findings on
the mid-treatment PET scan, correlated with patient outcome (232). However,
18
F-
FMISO might prove useful for guiding dose escalation to hypoxic tissue using IMRT
techniques (233).
60/62
62
Cu-ATSM
18
with good contrast and feasibility of image fusion and definition of subvolumes
(236).
77
history
and
complete
physical
examination,
flexible
fiberoptic
18
then all the patients stayed in a well equipped room during the uptake phase and
instructed to remain recumbent, warm and silent, to minimize the non-desired FDG
uptake. PET/CT images were acquired 50 minutes after the injection time using a
combined PET/CT scanner (Discovery ST 16, GE Healthcare). Before PET
acquisition, helical CT images were obtained for anatomical localization/attenuation
correction (AL/AC) from the head to the proximal thigh according to a standardized
protocol. The following settings were used: transverse 10-mm collimation, 16-slice
mode, 120 kVp, auto mAs (range 10300), 0.5 s tube rotation, 17.5 mm/s table speed
and pitch 1.75. No intravenous contrast materials were administered for the CT scan.
CT data was resized from a 512 512 matrix to a 128 128 matrix to match the PET
data to allow for image fusion and generation of CT transmission maps. Emission
data were acquired from the head to the proximal thigh. Data were acquired in twodimensional mode (3 min per table position). The study was performed with the arms
positioned along the side of the body. No head holder was used. After CT-based AC,
PET images were reconstructed with an ordered subset expectation maximization
iterative reconstruction algorithm (4 iterations and 15 subsets). Slice thickness was
3.75 mm.
Data Reading & Analysis
All data were transferred automatically to the processing workstation (Xeleris
Workstation, GE Healthcare). PET/CT images were evaluated in the axial, sagittal,
and coronal planes in the default window level. Standardized uptake value (SUV)
was defined as the greatest activity concentration per injected dose per body weight
(in kilograms) after correction for radioactive decay.
Any abnormal FDG uptake was visually scored on a 5-point scoring system
(190), varying from 0 = no uptake, 1 = faint uptake (likely benign), 2 = mild uptake
(equivocal), 3 = moderate uptake (likely malignant), 4 = intense uptake (definitely
malignant). Discrepancies between different imaging modalities were solved by
79
consensus among the head and neck oncology group, which includes physicians from
otolaryngology, plastic surgery, radiation oncology, medical oncology, pathology,
radiology, in addition to nuclear medicine.
At time of analysis, all data were transferred via Digital Imaging and
Communications in Medicine (DICOM) protocol to another processing workstation
(Siemens Syngo MI.PET/CT 2010A). Cross calibration between the two processing
units was assured and SUV values were the same.
The primary tumor and lymph nodes volumes were measured using a
semiautomatic contouring software (Siemens TrueD, Siemens Medical Solutions).
The tumor boundaries were identified and drawn large enough to include all the
tumor volume but careful enough to exclude areas of physiological uptake (e.g.
tonsils, salivary glands.. etc). Then an isocontour connecting the outlines of the
volume of interest (VOI) was set. The selected volumes were based on two semiautomatic contouring methods: (1) Absolute SUV values: tumors were delineated at
absolute SUV 2.5, 3, 3.5 and 4; and (2) Thresholding: tumors were contoured based
on 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70% and 80% of the within-volume maximum SUV.
Among all these methods, the best contouring method was selected based on
the highest correlation analysis (R2) between the maximum axial tumor diameter
from the fixed pathology specimens and the maximum axial diameter from the
delineated PET/CT volumes according to the different methods. That turned out to be
absolute SUV 3 for the primary tumor and absolute SUV 2.5 for lymph node
delineation.
The lymph nodes, which were delineated, were considered metastatic based on
consensus agreement among the head and neck oncology group according to clinical
data, examination and conventional modalities (CT/MRI). In the presence of multiple
metastatic LNs, the one with the highest SUVmax was selected for delineation.
80
To minimize the partial volume effect (PVE) of the primary tumor volume,
patients with T1 disease were excluded. However, PVE was inevitable in delineating
small neck lymph nodes. No correction for PVE was available.
Calculation of Total Lesion Glycloysis (TLG)
After delineation, each of the generated metabolic volumes from PET (MTV)
was multiplied by the average SUV within the same volume to get the value of TLG.
TLG = (MTV) X (Average SUV)
That was done for both the primary tumor to get the primary tumor TLG
(TTLG) and for the neck lymph node with highest uptake to calculate the nodal TLG
(NTLG).
Surgery and Adjuvant Therapy
The primary tumors were excised with 1 cm safety margins (both peripheral
and deep margins). Classic radical, or modified, neck dissection (ND) from Level I to
III or V was performed in patients with clinically positive nodal disease. Supraomohyoid ND (Level IIII) was performed in clinically node-negative patients and
all T2-T4 patients. Bilateral ND was performed if the primary tumor reached or
crossed the midline sagittal plane of the oral cavity.
The tumor margins were cryosectioned. If a margin was positive, additional
tissue was excised and cryosectioned to ensure that the margin was free of tumor. The
surgical defects were repaired with primary closure or reconstructed immediately by
plastic surgeons using free or local flaps.
Postoperative radiotherapy (RT) was performed in patients with stage pT4
tumor, pathologic positive lymph nodes, or pathologically close margins ( 4 mm).
RT was scheduled within 4-8 weeks after surgery. The prescribed dose was 1.82
Gy/fraction daily, given 5 days/week. The total radiation dose was 66 Gy/6.5 weeks
81
for patients with multiple positive neck lymph nodes and/or extracapsular spread
(ECS)
and
60
Gy/6
weeks
for
the
remaining
patients.
Concomitant
83
Results
Results
1.
Patients
A total of 134 consecutive patients with previously untreated OSCC were
scheduled for radical surgery between June 2006 and January 2008 at the Chang
Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan. The follow-up continued till February 2010 (the
time of analysis) giving a median follow-up 31.3 months (range: 24.7 48.9 months).
Among the patients, 8 patients were excluded due to T1 disease, leaving a valid
cohort of 126 patients. The median age of the study population was 49.5 years
(range: 28-83). Most of the tumors originated in the buccal mucosa (39%) or the
tongue (30%) (Figure 35).
84
Results
Results
margin less than 0.5 cm. Other general pathological characteristics are summarized in
(Table 3).
Table 3: General Pathological Characteristics of the Study Participants
Characteristic
n
Percentage
Pathological T status
pT2
65
(51.6)
pT3
17
(13.5)
pT4
44
(34.9)
Pathological N status
pN0
59
(46.8)
pN1
21
(16.7)
pN2b
39
(31)
pN2c
7
(5.6)
Pathological TNM stage (AJCC 1997)
pStage II
34
(27)
pStage III
25
(19.8)
pStage IV
67
(53.2)
Differentiation
WD SCC
22
(17.5)
MD SCC
82
(65.1)
PD SCC
22
(17.5)
Pathologic level IV-V lymph node metastases
No
120
(95.2)
Yes
6
(4.8)
Extracapsular spread (ECS)
No
86
(68.3)
Yes
40
(31.7)
Skin invasion
No
111
(88.1)
Yes
15
(11.9)
Perineural invasion
No
70
(55.6)
Yes
56
(44.4)
Vascular invasion
No
125
(99.2)
Yes
1
(0.8)
Lymphatic invasion
No
122
(96.8)
Yes
4
(3.2)
Bone marrow invasion
No
104
(82.5)
Yes
22
(17.5)
86
Results
Sixty-five patients (51.6%) were in pT2, while pT4 were seen in 44 patients
(35%). About 53% have pathologically positive nodal disease, and more than half of
the patients proved to be TNM stage IV and 65% of the tumors were moderately
differentiated SCC (Table 3).
The median follow-up for the whole study population was 31.3 months while
the median follow-up for surviving populations was 37.6 months (range: 24.7-48.9
months).
Figure 36: The pattern of recurrence in the 45 patients who experienced treatment
failure (percentages are given among the 45 patients).
By the end of follow-up, 45 patients experienced a recurrence (3-year DFS =
63%). The pattern of recurrence is illustrated in (Figure 36). There was isolated local
recurrence in 11 patients (24%), regional recurrence in 9 patients (20%), distant
metastases in 11 patients (24%). Local recurrence was associated with regional
failure in 5 patients (11%), with distant metastases in 2 patients (5%), and with both
87
Results
regional and distant failures in 4 patients (9%). Regional and distant metastasis was
seen in the remaining 3 patients (7%).
In total, 22 patients recur locally (3-year LC = 79.8%), 21 had regional failure
(3-year NC = 82.1%) and 20 patients had distant metastases (3-year DMFS =
83.1%).
Forty-six patients died (3-year OS = 62.5%); 37 of them because of cancer (3year-DSS = 68.7%).
2.
surgery.
Primary tumor SUVmax ranged from 3.7 to 31.8 (median: 13.7). The primary
tumor was scored 4 in 122 patients, scored 3 in 2 patients, scored 2 in one patient,
and scored 0 in another. For the latter case, delineation of the primary tumor was
based on MRI findings (Figure 36).
(A)
(B)
Figure 37: A 65-year-old male with left buccal cancer. (A) Axial T1 post-contrast
image showed enhancement in a small area (2.7 cm) of irregular mucosal thickening
in the left buccal area. (B) Fused PET/CT images revealed low FDG uptake in that
site (SUVmax 4.34) and accordingly was scored 0.
88
Results
The SUV of lymph nodes varied from 2.9 to 30.6 (median: 7.5). PET/CT
considered positive in 71 patients, 20 of them were falsely positive according to the
pathology (sensitivity = 76% and positive predictive value = 72%). Among the 55
PET negative patients, 16 proved positive on histopathological examination
(specificity = 66% and negative predictive value = 71%). The overall accuracy of
lymph node staging on patient basis was 71% with a 95% confidence interval (CI)
ranging from 64 to 79%.
3.
tumor volume on PET/CT studies, the absolute SUV value 3 gave the best correlation
with the axial tumor diameter from the fixed pathology specimen (R2 = 0.72; P <
0.001) (Figure 38-A).
For the lymph nodes, absolute SUV value of 2.5 gave the best correlation with
the maximum fixed axial diameter of the pathologic neck lymph nodes (R2 = 0.45; P
= 0.002) (Figure 38-B).
(B)
Pathologic LN diameter
(A)
Figure 38: Scatter plots for (A) the relation between maximum pathologic axial diameter
of the fixed primary tumor and the diameter derived from tumor delineation using absolute
SUV value of 3, and (B) the relation between maximum diameter of the pathologic lymph
nodes and the diameter derived from lymph node delineation using absolute SUV value of
2.5.
89
Results
4.
ml, while primary tumor TLG (TTLG) from 1.5 to 1356.1 (median: 71.4). Lymph
node MTV (NMTV) varied between 0.2 and 72.1 ml (median: 3.5 ml); and nodal
TLG (NTLG) ranged from 0.4 to 526.1 (median: 15.4).
5.
locally advanced tumors (pT3 & pT4) or with tumors showing perineural invasion or
depth 1 cm. Also primary tumor TLG (TTLG) was associated with advanced local
disease (pT3 & pT4), pathologically positive neck disease (pN+), positive ECS or
tumor depth more than 1 cm. Furthermore, it was significantly higher in patients with
skin, perineural or bone marrow invasion (Table 4).
ROC analysis identified TTLG value of 92.19 as the best predicitve cut-off
value for the presence of ECS. This point gave modest accuracy of only 68.1% (95%
CI: 59.2-76.1%; P = 0.001) (Figure 39-A).
(A)
(B)
Figure 39: ROC analyses of TTLG (A) and NTLG (B) in relation to presence of ECS.
The best cut-off values identified were 92.19 and 18.51, respectively. NTLG was
significantly more accurate than TTLG for predicting ECS (P < 0.001).
90
Results
TSUVmax
(Mean SD)
T status
pT2
65
(12.46.7)
pT3-T4
61
(15.65.5)
N status
pN0
59
(12.86.7)
pN+
67
(14.95.8)
TNM stage
pStage II
34
(116.3)
pStage III-IV
92
(156)
ECS
ECS (-)
86
(13.46.6)
ECS (+)
40
(15.25.7)
Differentiation
WD-MD SCC
104
(13.96.4)
PD SCC
22
(14.16.1)
Skin invasion
No
111
(13.66.3)
Yes
15
(16.65.7)
Perineural invasion
No
70
(12.76.2)
Yes
56
(15.66.2)
Lymphatic invasion
No
122
(13.96.3)
Yes
4
(14.16.5)
Marrow invasion
No
104
(13.86.3)
Yes
22
(14.66.5)
Close margin
> 0.7 cm
71
(13.86.6)
0.7 cm
55
(14.16.1)
Tumor depth
< 1 cm
52
(10.65.5)
1 cm
74
(16.35.8)
The asterisk (*) indicates statistically significant result
TTLG
(Mean SD)
0.003*
(47.762.4)
(228.5250)
<0.001*
0.058
(104.8198)
(162.1200.4)
0.002*
0.001*
(39.866.3)
(170.5221.4)
<0.001*
0.13
(108.9181.5)
(192228.6)
0.001*
0.921
(140.9215.7)
(108.3101.3)
0.758
0.087
(107.3130.9)
(342.4415)
0.005*
0.01*
(85.8130.6)
(197.1251)
<0.001*
0.958
(134.3200.6)
(165.5225.6)
0.738
0.608
(106162.8)
(273.6291.7)
<0.001*
0.813
(99.8108.6)
(181272.1)
0.162
<0.001*
(40.458.6)
(201.9235.7)
<0.001*
The mean lymph nodal SUV (NSUVmax) and NTLG were significantly higher
in patients with pN+ disease and positive ECS. A borderline association was seen
91
Results
with lymphatic invasion. No relation was detected with the tumor differentiation and
other pathological factors (Table 5). ROC analysis identified NTLG value of 18.51 as
the best predictive cut-off value for the presence of ECS. This point gave high
accuracy of 83.9% (95% CI: 59.2-76.1%; P < 0.001) (Figure 39-B).
Table 5: Relation of nodal
characteristics
NSUV
and
NTLG
Pathological
NSUVmax
n
characteristics
(Mean SD)
P
T status
pT2
65
(9.78)
0.797
pT3-T4
61
(9.24.9)
N status
pN0
59
(5.22.5)
<0.001*
pN+
67
(10.76.4)
TNM stage
pStage II
34
(40.7)
<0.001*
pStage III-IV
92
(106.2)
ECS
ECS (-)
86
(6.75.8)
0.003*
ECS (+)
40
(11.35.7)
Differentiation
WD-MD SCC
104
(9.35.9)
0.846
PD SCC
22
(9.77.2)
Skin invasion
No
111
(9.26.4)
0.606
Yes
15
(10.35)
Perineural invasion
No
70
(95.6)
0.696
Yes
56
(9.76.6)
Lymphatic invasion
No
122
(96)
0.096
Yes
4
(14.37.7)
Marrow invasion
No
104
(9.76.5)
0.554
Yes
22
(8.55.1)
Close margin
> 0.7 cm
71
(9.67)
0.766
0.7 cm
55
(9.15)
Tumor depth
< 1 cm
52
(9.37.7)
0.941
1 cm
74
(9.45.6)
The asterisk (*) indicates statistically significant result
92
to different pathological
NTLG
(Mean SD)
(33.162.8)
(69.4123.6)
0.127
(918.7)
(70.4117.5)
0.001*
(1.81.3)
(62.1110.4)
<0.001*
(9.616)
(89.3129.2)
<0.001*
(64120.3)
(32.536.3)
0.639
(49.197)
(90.8145.4)
0.267
(49.694.6)
(436.9)
0.881
(38.165.1)
(308.3231)
0.101
(46.984.6)
(86.4158.7)
0.903
(53.490.4)
(59.6125.8)
0.887
(37.968.3)
(62.7117)
0.688
Results
6.
Univariate Analyses
a.
Local Control
Among all the studied clinical and pathological variables, 5 factors proved
significant in UVA, these are: age, treatment modality, TTLG, pathological T status
and presence of bone marrow invasion. Age groups 40 years, treatment with
surgery followed by RT/CCRT, high TTLG (Figure 40), advanced local disease (pT3
& pT4) or the presence of bone marrow invasion (Figure 41) were linked to
significantly worse local disease control (Tables 6 & 7).
93
Results
94
Results
95
Results
b.
Neck Control
High NTLG showed borderline association with neck recurrence (Figure 42 &
Table 8). Poorly differentiated tumors were significantly linked to more neck failures
(Figure 43). Surprisingly, more neck failures were seen in patients with nearest
resection margin > 0.7 cm. Other associations did not show significance in the current
analysis (Table 9).
96
Results
97
Results
98
Results
c.
NSUVmax
(Table 10). Also, the presence of pN+, ECS (Figure 45), lymphatic invasion or bone
marrow invasion predicted for statistically significant worse 3-year distant control.
Advanced local disease and presence of perineural invasion or tumor depth 1 cm
showed borderline association with the development of distant metastases (Table 11).
Figure
44:
Distant
metastases free survival
rate according to the
primary tumor TLG.
Figure
45:
Distant
metastases free survival
according to the presence
or absence of extracapsular spread in the
neck lymph nodes of 126
patients with oral cavity
cancer.
99
Results
100
Results
Table 11: Univariate analysis of 3-year distant metastases free survival (DMFS)
according to pathological characteristics.
Distant Metastases Free Survival
n
Pathologic characteristics
Events (DMFS rate %) P
T status
pT2
65
7 (88.7)
0.057
pT3-T4
61
13 (77.3)
N status
pN0
59
1 (98.3)
< 0.001*
pN+
67
19 (67.5)
TNM stage
pStage II
34
1 (97.1)
0.013*
pStage III-IV
92
19 (77.4)
ECS
ECS (-)
86
5 (94)
< 0.001*
ECS (+)
40
15 (55.8)
Differentiation
WD-MD SCC
104
15 (84.7)
0.259
PD SCC
22
5 (74.8)
Skin invasion
No
111
18 (82.8)
0.950
Yes
15
2 (86.7)
Perineural invasion
No
70
8 (88.1)
0.092
Yes
56
12 (76.3)
Lymphatic invasion
No
122
17 (85.2)
< 0.001*
Yes
4
3 (0)
Marrow invasion
No
104
13 (86.6)
0.011*
Yes
22
7 (65.9)
Close margin
> 0.7 cm
71
12 (81.6)
0.732
0.7 cm
55
8 (84.8)
Tumor depth
< 1 cm
52
5 (90)
0.071
1 cm
74
15 (78.1)
Asterisk (*) indicates a statistically significant result (P < 0.05)
101
Results
d.
linked with disease free survival (Table 12). The presence of advanced local disease
(pT3 & pT4), pN+ (Figure 47), ECS, perineural invasion, lymphatic invasion or
marrow invasion predicted for significantly lower 3-year DFS (Table 13).
102
Results
Table 12: Univariate analysis of 3-year disease free survival (DFS) according
to clinical characteristics, SUV and TLG.
Disease Free Survival
Clinical characteristics
n
Events (DFS rate %)
P
Gender
Female
8
2 (75)
0.415
Male
118
43 (62.2)
Age (years)
> 40
100
36 (62.6)
0.990
40
26
9 (64)
Cigarette smoking
No
16
5 (68.8)
0.570
Yes
110
40 (62.1)
Alcohol drinking
No
36
12 (63.9)
0.871
Yes
90
33 (62.8)
Betel-quid chewing
No
17
3 (80.4)
0.137
Yes
109
42 (60.5)
Cancer sub-site
Buccal
49
15 (68.9)
0.631
Tongue
38
15 (58.7)
Gum-others
39
15 (60.4)
Treatment
Surgery alone
45
8 (81.7)
0.004*
Surgery + RT/CCRT
81
37 (52.8)
Primary tumor SUVmax
63
18 (68.4)
0.198
TSUVmax < 13.7
63
27 (57.5)
TSUVmax 13.7
Primary tumor TLG
63
16 (73.9)
0.007*
TTLG < 71.4
63
29 (51.6)
TSTLG 71.4
Nodal SUVmax
96
28 (69.7)
0.001*
NSUVmax < 7.5
30
17 (41.5)
NSUVmax 7.5
Nodal TLG
96
29 (68.7)
0.003*
NTLG < 15.4
30
16 (44)
NTLG 15.4
Asterisk (*) indicates a statistically significant result (P < 0.05)
103
Results
Table 13: Univariate analysis of 3-year disease free survival (DFS) according to
pathological characteristics.
Disease Free Survival
n
Pathologic characteristics
Events (DFS rate %)
P
T status
pT2
65
16 (74.3)
0.004*
pT3-T4
61
29 (50.8)
N status
pN0
59
14 (76.3)
0.003*
pN+
67
31 (50.8)
TNM stage
pStage II
34
7 (79.4)
0.041*
pStage III-IV
92
38 (56.5)
ECS
ECS (-)
86
24 (72)
0.002*
ECS (+)
40
21 (42)
Differentiation
WD-MD SCC
104
36 (64.3)
0.327
PD SCC
22
9 (56.4)
Skin invasion
No
111
38 (64.3)
0.225
Yes
15
7 (53.3)
Perineural invasion
No
70
19 (71.6)
0.018*
Yes
56
26 (51.9)
Lymphatic invasion
No
122
41 (65.1)
< 0.001*
Yes
4
4 (0)
Marrow invasion
No
104
32 (68.2)
0.005*
Yes
22
13 (37.5)
Close margin
> 0.7 cm
71
29 (57.3)
0.198
0.7 cm
55
16 (70)
Tumor depth
< 1 cm
52
17 (66.7)
0.369
1 cm
74
28 (60.4)
Asterisk (*) indicates a statistically significant result (P < 0.05)
104
Results
e.
(Figure 48), NSUVmax or NTLG were associated with significantly higher rates of
cancer related deaths (Table 14). The presence of advanced local disease (pT3 &
pT4; Figure 49), pN+, ECS, perineural, lymphatic or bone marrow invasion
predicted for statistically significant worse 3-year DSS while the presence of skin
invasion or tumor depth 1 cm showed borderline association (Table 15).
Figure
48:
Disease
specific survival rate
according to the primary
tumor TLG.
Figure
49:
Disease
specific
survival
according
to
the
pathologic status of neck
lymph nodes.
105
Results
Table 14: Univariate analysis of 3-year disease specific survival (DSS) according
to clinical characteristics, SUV and TLG.
Disease Specific Survival
Clinical characteristics
n
Events (DSS rate %)
P
Gender
Female
8
2 (75)
0.672
Male
118
35 (68.3)
Age (years)
> 40
100
28 (69.7)
0.461
40
26
9 (64)
Cigarette smoking
No
16
4 (75)
0.500
Yes
110
33 (68)
Alcohol drinking
No
36
9 (73.1)
0.639
Yes
90
28 (67)
Betel-quid chewing
No
17
3 (79.8)
0.353
Yes
109
34 (67.3)
Cancer sub-site
Buccal
49
15 (66.8)
0.873
Tongue
38
10 (71.9)
Gum-others
39
12 (67.6)
Treatment
Surgery alone
45
5 (87.9)
0.001*
Surgery + RT/CCRT
81
32 (58.5)
Primary tumor SUVmax
63
12 (78.3)
0.033*
TSUVmax < 13.7
63
25 (59.3)
TSUVmax 13.7
Primary tumor TLG
63
10 (83.6)
< 0.001*
TTLG < 71.4
63
27 (53.1)
TSTLG 71.4
Nodal SUVmax
96
20 (78.1)
< 0.001*
NSUVmax < 7.5
30
17 (38.9)
NSUVmax 7.5
Nodal TLG
96
21 (77)
< 0.001*
NTLG < 15.4
30
16 (42.3)
NTLG 15.4
Asterisk (*) indicates a statistically significant result (P < 0.05)
106
Results
107
Results
f.
Overall Survival
Three year overall survival was significantly lower in patients with high
surgery plus adjuvant RT/CCRT (Table 16). The presence of advanced local disease
(pT3 & pT4), pN+ (Figure 51), ECS, perineural, lymphatic, bone marrow invasions
or tumor depth 1 cm were linked to statistically significant worse 3-year survival
while the presence of skin invasion showed borderline association (Table 17).
Figure
50:
Overall
survival rate according
to the neck lymph nodal
SUV.
Figure
51:
Overall
survival rate according
to the pathologic status
of neck lymph nodes.
108
Results
109
Results
110
Results
All the statistically significant results of univariate analyses for different study
end points; namely LC, NC, DMFS, DFS, DSS and OS, according to different clinical
and pathologic criteria, are summarized in (Table 18).
Table 18: Univariate analyses of 3-year local control (LC), neck control (NC), distant
metastases free survival (DMFS), disease free survival (DFS), disease specific survival (DSS)
and overall survival (OS) according to clinical data, SUV, TLG, and pathological
characteristics.
Characteristic
Gender
Age
Cigarette smoking
Alcohol drinking
Betel-quid chewing
Cancer sub-site
Treatment modality
Primary tumor SUVmax
Primary tumor TLG
Nodal SUVmax
Nodal TLG
Pathologic T status
Pathologic N status
Pathologic TNM stage
ECS
Differentiation
Skin invasion
Perineural invasion
Lymphatic invasion
Marrow invasion
Close margin
Tumor depth
ns = not significant
P-Value
LC
NC
DMFS
DFS
DSS
OS
ns
0.034
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
0.008
ns
0.004
ns
0.002
<0.001
<0.001
ns
0.007
0.001
0.003
0.004
0.003
0.041
0.002
ns
ns
0.001
0.033
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
0.001
<0.001
0.006
<0.001
ns
ns
0.002
0.033
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
0.001
<0.001
ns
ns
0.018
<0.001
0.005
ns
ns
0.007
<0.001
0.005
ns
ns
0.011
<0.001
0.005
ns
0.032
ns
0.017
ns
ns
0.002
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
0.001
ns
ns
<0.001
0.013
<0.001
ns
ns
ns
0.002
ns
ns
ns
ns
<0.001
0.011
ns
ns
0.017
ns
111
0.006
Results
7.
Multivariate Analyses
a.
Local Control
Both age at diagnosis and invasion of bone marrow by the primary tumor were
independent prognostic factors for local control with significant difference (Table
19).
Table 19: Multivariate analysis of 3-year local primary tumor control (LC).
Risk factor
Age at diagnosis (years)
(> 40/ 40)
Pathologic T status
(pT2/pT3-T4)
Pathologic marrow invasion
(No/Yes)
LC
HR (95% CI)
(100/26)
4 (1.5 - 10.7)
0.006 *
(65/61)
2.8 (1 - 8)
0.059
(104/22)
0.029 *
Table is showing only the factors that remained in the final step of Cox-proportional hazard
model, forward stepwise method
Asterisk (*) indicates a statistically significant result (P < 0.05)
b.
Neck Control
Poor tumor differentiation was the only factor remained in the hazard model as
risk factor for neck nodes recurrence with significant difference (Table 20).
NC
HR (95% CI)
(104/22)
3 (1.2 - 7.4)
0.015 *
(71/55)
0.3 (0.1 - 1)
0.052
Table is showing only the factors that remained in the final step of Cox-proportional hazard
model, forward stepwise method
Asterisk (*) indicates a statistically significant result (P < 0.05)
112
Results
c.
independent bad prognosticator for DMFS with significant difference (Table 21).
Table 21: Multivariate analysis of 3-year distant metastases free survival
(DMFS).
Risk factor
Primary tumor TLG (TTLG)
( 71.4/< 71.4)
Nodal SUVmax (NSUVmax)
( 7.5/ < 7.5)
Pathologic N status
(pN0/pN+)
Pathologic lymphatic invasion
(No/Yes)
DMFS
HR (95% CI)
(63/63)
0.031 *
(96/30)
4 (1.5 - 11.1)
0.007 *
(59/67)
0.032 *
(122/4)
0.011 *
Table is showing only the factors that remained in the final step of Cox-proportional hazard
model, forward stepwise method
Asterisk (*) indicates a statistically significant result (P < 0.05)
d.
lymphatic invasion were independent bad prognosticators for DFS with significant
difference (Table 22).
Table 22: Multivariate analysis of 3-year disease free survival (DFS).
Risk factor
Primary tumor TLG (TTLG)
( 71.4/< 71.4)
Pathologic marrow invasion
(No/Yes)
Pathologic N status
(pN0/pN+)
Pathologic lymphatic invasion
(No/Yes)
DFS
HR (95% CI)
(63/63)
0.098
(104/22)
2.1 (1 - 4.2)
0.048 *
(59/67)
0.018 *
(122/4)
0.011 *
Table is showing only the factors that remained in the final step of Cox-proportional hazard
model, forward stepwise method
Asterisk (*) indicates a statistically significant result (P < 0.05)
113
Results
e.
were independent prognostic factors for DSS with significant difference (Table 23).
Table 23: Multivariate analysis of 3-year disease specific survival (DSS) .
Risk factor
Primary tumor TLG (TTLG)
( 71.4/< 71.4)
Nodal SUVmax (NSUVmax)
( 7.5/ < 7.5)
Pathologic N status
(pN0/pN+)
Pathologic lymphatic invasion
(No/Yes)
DSS
HR (95% CI)
(63/63)
0.002 *
(96/30)
0.024 *
(59/67)
0.017 *
(122/4)
< 0.001 *
Table is showing only the factors that remained in the final step of Cox-proportional hazard
model, forward stepwise method
Asterisk (*) indicates a statistically significant result (P < 0.05)
f.
Overall Survival
Pathologic T & N status, lymphatic invasion and nodal SUV were independent
OS
HR (95% CI)
(65/61)
< 0.001 *
(96/30)
0.023 *
(59/67)
< 0.001 *
(122/4)
0.004 *
Table is showing only the factors that remained in the final step of Cox-proportional hazard
model, forward stepwise method
Asterisk (*) indicates a statistically significant result (P < 0.05)
114
Results
8.
Risk Score
The risk factors most consistently identified as independent prognostic factors
for disease specific survival were used to formulate a risk score based on the presence
or absence of three parameters: primary tumor TLG 71.4, positive neck nodes and
nodal SUV 7.5. Patients were scored 0 if they do not have any of these risk factors,
scored 1 for having one, scored 2 if they have two and scored 3 for having the three
risk factors together. Four risk groups were identified, that showed significant
differences in terms of outcome (Table 25, Figures 52 & 53). Respectively, 3-yearDFS was 83%, 60%, 67%, and 19% (P < 0.001). Similarly, 3-year-DSS was 94%,
70%, 67% and 13% (P < 0.001).
The difference between score 0 and score 3 patients was statistically significant
for all the events. Patients with score 3 (n = 19) showed up to 32 times the risk of
score 0 patients for cancer death and survival does not exceed 13% (Table 25).
Table 25: Multivariate analysis of 3-year disease free (DFS) and disease specific
survival (DSS), according to the proposed risk score.
DFS
Score
Events
HR
(DFS%)
Score 0 # 36
Score 1
DSS
P
Events
HR
(95% CI)
(DSS%)
(95% CI)
6
(83.3%)
2
(93.9%)
39
15
(59.9%)
2.6
(1 - 6.6)
0.053
11
(70.4%)
5.6
(1.2 - 25.4)
0.025 *
Score 2
32
10
(66.7%)
2.4
(0.9 - 6.5)
0.097
10
(66.7%)
7.6
(1.7 - 34.9)
0.009 *
Score 3
19
14
(18.7%)
8
(3.1 - 21.1)
< 0.001 *
14
(12.8%)
32.2
(7.2 - 143)
< 0.001 *
Hash sign (#) points to the reference group where hazard ratio equals 1
Asterisk (*) indicates a statistically significant result (P < 0.05)
Results
Only 6 out of the 19 patients were alive for more than 12 months from the date of
surgery.
Figure
53:
Disease
specific survival rate
according
to
the
proposed risk score.
116
Results
Relapse
Pattern
M
M
M
M
TNM
M
TN
TM
TNM
NM
M
M
TM
M
Relapse
Duration
3
7
4
7
6
18
30
13
14
2
2
5
2
13
24
Final
Status
DOD
DOD
DOD
DOD
DOD
Died*
NER
DOD
NER
DOD
DOD
DOD
NER
DOD
NER
DOD
DOD
DOD
DOD
FU
Duration
5
8
5
8
8
7
21
19
30
16
17
4
36
4
15
6
3
19
34
* Patient number 6 received only 800 cGy of adjuvant radiotherapy and one cycle of chemotherapy then died of sepsis and
aspiration pneumonia at oncology ward. He was considered non-cancer death.
117
Results
9.
or absence of ECS reveals that patients with positive ECS and high NSUVmax are at
higher risk for developing distant metastases and cancer death relative to those with
positive ECS but low NSUVmax. The 3-year DMFS was 40% in the first group
compared to 83% in the second group with significant difference (P = 0.019; Figures
54). The 3-year-DSS = 28% vs. 68% for the second group with significant difference
(P = 0.024; Figures 55).
Figure
54:
Distant
metastases free survival
rate according to nodal
SUV in 40 patients with
positive ECS.
Figure
55:
Disease
specific survival rate
according to nodal SUV
in 40 patients with
positive ECS.
118
Case Presentation
Case Presentation
Case 1: Score 0-patient
Male patient, 69-year-old, he had the habits of smoking cigarettes, alcohol
drinking, and betel nut chewing. He
presented to the hospital with MD SCC
of the right tongue, clinically staged
cT2 N1 M0
PET/CT revealed an FDG avid
lesion in right tongue mucosa, TSUV 11
& TTLG 26.
Radical surgery was planned on
5th July 2006 with elective ipsilateral
level I-III neck dissection.
Pathology
showed
nearest
for
skin,
perineural
bone
marrow,
or
vascular
119
Case Presentation
showed
nearest
or
vascular
invasions.
120
Case Presentation
surgery
was
Case Presentation
lesion
in
right
buccal
level
Ib
surgery
was
free
on
follow-up.
On
122
Case Presentation
and
positive
level
Ib
surgery
was
I-III
Pathology
neck
showed
dissection.
nearest
123
Case Presentation
TTLG
or
perineural
invasions
124
Case Presentation
Negative
for
skin,
bone
Case Presentation
dissection.
Pathology
showed
vascular,
or
perineural
126
Discussion
Discussion
The World Health Organization expects a worldwide rising OSCC incidence in
the next decades (2). Currently, oral cancer represents the eighth most common
cancer worldwide, but the incidence varies between different geographic regions (1).
In Taiwan, OSCC is ranked fourth in cancer incidence and fifth in cancer mortality
among Taiwanese men (34). The mortality rate jumped more than two folds over the
last decade (35). Furthermore, the malignant process and its treatment can
compromise speech, mastication, swallowing and appearance, leading to a
detrimental effect on quality of life and patient well-being (239). Considerable
research on the prevention, early diagnosis, risk stratification and management is
ongoing.
This work was done in molecular imaging center in Chang Gung Memorial
Hospital, Taiwan as part of a larger prospective project, aiming at better
understanding of the molecular basis of OSCC in addition to risk stratification using
novel markers.
The identification of novel prognosticators in cancer is essential for tailoring
the therapeutic approach. Classically, prognostic factors in cancer have been derived
from anatomical and morphological rather than functional risk factors. Evidence
suggests that the biological information obtained from 18F-FDG PET/CT could be of
paramount importance for modifying or customizing the therapeutic approach.
In the current work, multiple pathological and clinical factors including PET
parameters have been explored for possible relation to the prognosis of OSCC.
Younger age was found to be a bad sign for local control. Although the age is a
controversial factor, younger age has been associated with worse outcomes in the
works of Iype et al (37) (38), Myers et al (39) and Liao et al (79). It was suggested
that oral neoplasia in young patients may represent a special disease entity (240, 241).
127
Discussion
Bone marrow invasion was also associated with poorer local control. This is
also a controversial finding. Some authors report unfavorable outcomes (242-245),
others did not find that association (246-248). Reports vary in their guidelines of
bone resection in the presence of cortical or marrow invasion, and also vary in their
post-operative management. More consistent methodology is needed to further
evaluate whether marrow invasion affects the control rates and outcome or not.
Tumor differentiation is important predictor of occult neck metastases (249)
and it has also been reported to be an independent bad prognostic factor for worse
regional control (245, 250). Also we found that poor tumor differentiation is linked to
poor regional control. Poorly differentiated tumors have an increased propensity for
regional metastasis and a poorer prognosis.
It is established that poor survival is linked to poor loco-regional control (71,
73, 74). Liao et al emphasized the bad prognostic impact of nodal metastases,
especially with ECS and lower neck levels IV& V (72, 214, 245). In this work, both
T and N status were independently associated with shorter survival. The presence of
ECS alone did not achieve statistical significance, most likely due to relatively small
number of patients having ECS (n = 40).
Tumor depth was associated with survival in many studies, but the exact cutoff was variable and standardization of the measurement method is lacking. We
choose a cut-off of 1 cm as described by Liao et al in their analysis of local control
for 827 patients (71). In the present work, it was strongly associated with poor
survival in univariate analysis, but it does not withstand in multivariate analysis.
Among the clinical factors, the potential prognostic role of presurgical
18
F-
FDG PET/CT has been studied using two main objective semiquantitative parameters
were examined (SUV and TLG) at the primary tumor and neck lymph nodes.
128
Discussion
Being more robust, reproducible, and less affected by the size and placement of
the region of interest (ROI) (131), SUVmax was used in this work, and also it has
been widely used for most of the routine work (120, 153). However, the SUVmax
reflects the glucose avidity of the tumor at the most active pixel only, regardless the
volume and the heterogeneity of the tumor, which may not represent a real index of
the tumor burden.
Similarly, the pT stage is not representative of the three-dimensional tumor
volume. Therefore, it can be expected that tumor burden, measured by a threedimensional volumetric method, may be more reliable for the assessment of tumor
extent, and serve as a better independent prognostic factor than pT stage (166).
The tumor volume, although labor-intensive, can be measured by CT and MRI,
and found to correlate well with the treatment outcomes in some head and neck
cancers (251, 252). In PET/CT, the high tumor to background ratio (contrast
resolution) makes it easier to measure the metabolic tumor volume (MTV) (253).
Nevertheless the tumor edge on PET scan appears fuzzy to the contouring
physician, that is in contrast to CT and MRI, where tumors have well-defined
anatomic margins due to much better spatial resolution (161).
Different methods for contouring the PET volumes have been proposed but
hampered by the difficulty of pathological validation of these methods (254, 255).
Tumor geometry, tissue retraction and tumor heterogeneity are the main obstacles for
full pathological volume estimation (256).
In this work, the best contouring method was selected based on the best
correlation between the maximum axial diameter in the pathology specimen and the
corresponding diameter obtained from different contouring methods. The absolute
threshold based on SUVmax 3 gave the best correlation for the primary tumor, while
that of SUVmax 2.5 was the best correlation for the cervical lymph nodes.
129
Discussion
Baek et al. have previously found that absolute threshold (SUVmax 3.5) could
predict the pathological volume in two groups of oral cavity cancer patients (with and
without dental artifacts). It was reported that dental artifacts might increase the
uptake in CT corrected images and cause elevation of the SUV (180). That might
partially explain why our threshold for volume assessment was less. In addition, the
number of patients with locally advanced tumor (n =10) in their study was far less
than in the current study. It worth noting that a detailed description of the
pathological methods used to overcome tissue retraction was not described in that
work (180).
Seitz et al. prospectively used a cut-off value of 3.5 to delineate the tumor in
66 patients with oropharyngeal and oral cavity SCC. The pathological volume was
determined from visualization of gross tumor infiltration in the fresh specimens,
which were collected en bloc in the operation room and were placed in a polystyrene
cast marked longitudinally in the three dimensions and filled with gelatin solution in
order to avoid shrinkage of the specimen. They found no differences between
PET/CT and MRI regarding the diagnostic performance (185). It is known that higher
thresholds will result in smaller volumes, that may explain the higher SUV cut-off
value especially if we know that their study included only 20 patients with advanced
local disease. Whether or not the application of different threshold for each cancer
stage will give better correlation with the pathologic specimen needs further
evaluation.
Furthermore, Daisne et al compared CT, MRI, and FDG PET for delineation of
tumor volume in pharyngolaryngeal SCC, with the results validated by surgical
specimen fixed by non-retratction methods. They indicated that FDG PET was the
most accurate modality for measuring tumor volume (171). They developed a
customized home-made segmentation algorithm to delineate the tumor volume
automatically based on the measured signal-to-noise ratio (257). Their methods may
make it difficult to compare their work to others.
130
Discussion
18
F-FDG PET
parameters may vary depending on the specific endpoint. Primary tumor SUV
(TSUVmax) did not show significance for any of the study outcomes. Previous work
by Liao et al showed that TSUVmax was linked to poor LC and death in OSCC (214).
However, they focused on patients with pathologically positive neck nodes and they
used a cut-off for SUV of 19.3. It was selected based on the lowest P-value obtained
from log-rank test, for each SUV value with LC, a method that might be criticized for
being biased to the clinical outcome.
In order to have more accurate and representative measures of the metabolic
tumor burden, we added the TLG in this analysis, in addition to SUVmax, as a
relatively new semiquantitative parameter derived from FDG PET.
The concept of total lesion glycolysis (TLG) was first suggested by Larson et
al. It refers to the product of MTV multiplied by the average SUV within the tumor
volume. It was suggested as a better index for both functional tumor burden (MTV)
and biological aggressiveness (SUV) (12).
Few recent studies have demonstrated that MTV is associated with prognosis
in head and neck cancer patients treated by either surgery or RT/CRT (253, 258,
259). Studies discussing the relation of TLG to outcomes in HNC were scarce. Chan
et al measured SUVmax, MTV, TLG in 57 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma
(NPC) and concluded that these metabolic parameters were positively correlated with
T-stage in primary NPC and suggested their complementary role to TNM staging in
prognostication of NPC patients (260). Another larger study using baseline TLG in
196 patients with stage IV NPC patients found that TLG values greater than 330
independently predicted disease-free survival and overall survival (261). Analysis of
both TLG and mean SUV in 88 patients with HNC showed that both parameters are
statistically significant although mean SUV seems to be more strong prognosticator
(262).
131
Discussion
In the present work, TLG of the primary tumor (TTLG) was shown to be
independent prognostic factor for distant metastases free survival (DMFS), disease
free survival (DFS) and disease specific survival (DSS). Other studies demonstrated
that metabolic activity of FDG reflects tumor burden, cellular density and
proliferation indices (201). These criteria could be linked to disease aggressive
behavior.
One of the major determinants of prognosis in OSCC is the presence of
cervical LN metastases (263, 264). It was reported that FDG PET/CT has suboptimal
diagnostic sensitivity and specificity for primary staging of the neck in OSCC patient
(185, 190, 197, 265). The diagnostic performance results from the current work
confirm these previous reports with modest sensitivity and specificity. One of the
sources of high false positive rates is the presence of reactive lymphadenopathy,
which expresses GLUT1 in their secondary follicles (266). Add to that, and because
of limited spatial resolution, PET appears insufficiently sensitive to identify small
neck lymph node metastases in OSCC patients (190). It worth noting that in the
current work 21% (14 out of 67 pN+ patients) had a LN diameter < 1 cm and 37%
had a LN diameter < 1.5 cm.
Nevertheless, an important strength of the use of PET is the ability to measure
the intensity of metabolic activity by means of SUV, MTV and TLG. Nodal SUV
(NSUVmax) has been shown to correlate with the outcome in OSCC (190, 217, 219).
In the current work, NSUVmax was also shown to be independent prognostic factor
for DMFS, DSS and OS.
Furthermore, NSUVmax could be used to further stratify the patients with
positive extra-capsular spread (ECS). ECS is generally considered to be one of the
most important independent risk factors for survival in patients with head and neck
cancer (73, 115, 116). Interestingly, of the 40 patients with positive ECS, 15 had
NSUVmax
< 7.5, only 2 of them showed distant metastasis and 4 died of cancer
(DMFS rate = 83%, DSS = 68%). On the other hand, 13 out of the remaining 25
132
Discussion
patients with NSUVmax 7.5 developed distant relapse and 16 had cancer related
death (DMFS = 40%, DSS = 28%). The statistical difference for both DMFS and
DSS was significant (P = 0.019 & 0.024, respectively). It is thus suggested that novel
therapeutic strategies and close follow-up schedules aiming to increase distant control
rate or survival should be especially pursued in patients with ECS combined with
high NSUVmax.
However, till now there is no published clinical trial in oral cavity cancer based
on the prognostic data results from PET, possibly because most of these prognostic
reports belong to a single center experience, and the cut-off value for the worse
outcome varied between the published studies.
As a new prognostic parameter, TLG of neck lymph nodes was studied the
current work; however, nodal TLG did not show prognostic significance for different
outcome endpoints. Many obstacles hamper the accuracy of LN volume delineation
on FDG PET; (a) The limited spatial resolution, (b) The problem of partial volume
effect, which lead to underestimation of FDG uptake in the small sized LNs, (c) The
absence of established objective criteria for identifying the PET positive LNs, and (d)
The technical difficulty of delineating multiple LNs in one or multiple neck levels.
In this work, a cut-off SUV of 2.5 was used to for delineation, based on the
best correlation to the pathologic diameters. It is known that many pathological LNs
may have SUV less than 2.5 (185, 190) but we choose to stick to the same
methodology used for the primary tumor delineation. In addition, only the LN with
the highest uptake was delineated, which may not be a real index of the total nodal
biological tumor burden. Further studies that classify LNs into groups according to
their diameters and specify different cut-off value for each category may give
different results.
A prognostic scoring system based on the presence or absence of the 3 most
consistent prognostic factors obtained from MVA was formulated. These factors are:
133
Discussion
positive pathological nodal status, high TTLG and high NSUV. That scoring system
identified 4 groups of patients with no, only one, two or the three risk factors.
Respectively, 3-year-DFS was 83%, 60%, 67%, and 19% (P < 0.001). Similarly, 3year-DSS was 94%, 70%, 67% and 13% (P < 0.001). Score 1 patients (n = 36) had
good cancer control and excellent survival using the current treatment and follow-up
approach; however, it seems that score 1 and score 2 patients (n = 39 & 32,
respectively) had intermediate control and survival rates. Further work is needed to
study the differences within this group of patients and further identify their prognosis.
In contrast, patients with score 3 (n = 19) were at notably higher risk for recurrence
and cancer death compared to patients lacking these risk factors (P < 0.001 for both;
HR = 8 & 32, respectively).
Within score 3 patients, 17 of the 19 patients died during the follow-up period
(Table 26). Fourteen of them died due to cancer, two because of development of a
second primary tumor, which was in the alveolar ridge patient number 7 or in the
esophagus patient number 15, and one died due to sepsis and aspiration pneumonia
during the course of adjuvant CCRT patient number 6.
The fourteen patients suffered treatment failure and did not survive. The
pattern of relapse was mainly distant failure (13/14 patients had distant metastases).
In 8 patients, distant metastases was isolated, it was associated with local recurrence
in 2 patients number 11 & 18, regional recurrence in 1 patient number 14, and
both local and regional in the remaining 2 patients number 5 & 12. The remaining
patient had locoregional failure after 11 months from surgery number 10. The
median time for development of relapse in these 14 patients was 7 months (range: 224 months) and the median interval between confirmed diagnosis of recurrence and
death ranged from 1 week to 11 months (median = 2 months). Interestingly, within
score 3 patients, the mean TTLG tends to be higher among the patients with poorest
survival (those who survived less than 9 months) compared to those who survived
more than 9 months (mean TTLG = 368 & 178, respectively; P = 0.09). Such findings
134
Discussion
may reflect aggressive tumor behavior, which is at least partly unleashed by the
metabolic activity seen in the high primary tumor TLG and nodal SUV.
It is realized that these results cannot represent the basis for changing the
management, but it may set the stage for clinical trials utilizing more aggressive
chemoradiation regimens or novel therapies (e.g. target therapy) that are specifically
directed to the group of patients with the highest risk.
Also, whether or not a more strict and close systemic follow-up protocol for
these patients can pick the distant failures earlier and may help in their management
is open for future work.
This work has some advantages: its prospective design with reasonable sample
size and homogeneous population with a standardized management approach. Also, it
is the first study that reported the prognostic significance of TLG in oral cavity
cancer patients. However, this work also suffers some potential limitations; (a) it is a
single center experience, from Taiwanese population, which limit the generalization
of the results, (b) the follow-up period was 24 months, which is not long enough for
studying the 5-year-survival, (c) the application of anti-retraction pathological
fixation methods was not feasible, and (d) the data from lymph node volume may not
be accurate based on a single cut-off value of 2.5.
135
The presence of high SUV in the lymph nodes, together with extracapsular
spread (ECS), can define a group of patients at higher risk for distant
metastasis and poor survival.
A scoring system that incorporates primary tumor TLG and nodal SUV, in
addition to the established pathologic nodal involvement can stratify the risk in
oral cavity SCC into 4 groups. The group having the three risk factors was
identified for having 32 times higher risk for cancer death.
High risk group could be a potential target for clinical trials involving the use
of more aggressive treatment regimens or novel approaches like target therapy.
136
Summary
Summary
Oral cancer is the eighth most common cancer worldwide. It refers to cancers
developing in both oropharynx and oral cavity. The oral cavity is the one concerned
in this work. It anatomically includes lip, anterior two thirds of the tongue, floor of
the mouth, buccal mucosa, retromolar trigone, upper and lower alveolar ridges, and
hard palate.
Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) represents more than 90% of cancers arising
in this area. Surgery is the main stay for resectable OSCC.
Post-operative
Summary
till death or at least 24 months from the time of their surgery. The data were
prospectively collected but analyzed retrospectively. Primary tumor and metastatic
lymph nodes were delineated using different methods (absolute threshold: SUV 2.5, 3,
3.5 & 4, and percentage of the maximum SUV 30%, 40%, 50%, 60 & 70%). The
lymph nodes, which were delineated, were considered metastatic based on consensus
agreement among the head and neck oncology group according to clinical data,
examination and conventional modalities (CT/MRI). The best threshold for volume
delineation was selected based on the best correlation between the maximum axial
tumor diameter from the pathology specimens and the maximum diameter from the
delineated PET/CT volumes in different thresholds, with no correction for tissue
retraction. Accordingly, MTV of the primary tumor (TMTV) was chosen based on
absolute SUVmax threshold of 3, while that of the lymph nodes (NMTV) was derived
from absolute threshold of 2.5. To minimize the effect of partial volume effect (PVE)
on delineation of the primary tumor volume, patients with T1 disease were excluded.
However, PVE was inevitable in delineating small neck lymph nodes. No correction
for PVE was applied.
The median value of SUVmax and TLG were used to dichotomize the patients
into two categories. Those values above (or equal to) the median were referred to as
high SUVmax and high TLG in contrast to the group with low SUVmax and low
TLG who had these values below the median.
Local control (LC), neck control (NC), distant metastasis free survival (DMFS),
disease-specific (DSS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated by Kaplan-Meier
method and compared in different groups using log-rank test. Cox proportional
hazard model was used to identify the independent study prognosticators. These
independent prognostic factors were used to build a scoring system for OSCC
patients.
In the current work, the median TTLG was 71.4 and median NSUVmax was 7.5.
The presence of high NSUVmax, together with extracapsular spread (ECS), could
further define a group of patients at higher risk for distant metastasis and poor
138
Summary
survival, compared to those with ECS and lower NSUV. Patient with high NSUVmax
7.5 and ECS showed higher rate of distant failure, compared to those with ECS and
NSUVmax
< 7.5 (3-year DMFS = 40% vs. 83%, respectively; P = 0.019). Similarly,
the first group also experienced poor survival (3-year-DSS = 28% vs. 68%,
respectively; P = 0.024).
TTLG
and NSUVmax were found to correlate well with the different study
endpoints in univariate and multivariate analyses. Patient with high TTLG had 3-year
DFS of 52% vs. 74% for patient with low TTLG (P = 0.007), the 3-year-DSS were
53% vs. 84%, respectively (P < 0.001). Similarly, patient with high NSUV had 3-year
DFS of 42% vs. 70% for patient with low NSUV (P = 0.001), the 3-year-DSS were
39% vs. 78%, respectively (P < 0.001).
It has been demonstrated that the primary tumor TLG, neck nodal SUV and
pathological nodal status are independent prognostic factors for OSCC control and
survival. A scoring system that incorporates those three factors was formulated. It
could stratify the risk in OSCC into 4 groups (score 0: have none of the three risk
factors, score 1: have one risk factor, score 2: have 2 risk factors, and score 3
patients have the 3 risk factors). Respectively, 3-year-DFS was 83%, 60%, 67%, and
19% (P < 0.001). Similarly, 3-year-DSS was 94%, 70%, 67% and 13% (P < 0.001).
Score 0 patients (n = 36) had good cancer control and excellent survival using
the current treatment and follow-up approach. Score 1 and score 2 patients (n = 39 &
32, respectively) had intermediate cancer control and survival rates and further work
is needed to study the differences within this group of patients and further identify
their prognosis.
Score 3 patients, who had all the three risk factors, (n = 19) were identified for
having the highest risk for cancer recurrence and poor survival. The hazard of cancer
recurrence and death were 8 & 32 times the reference group lacking the same risk
factors.
139
Summary
Within this group, 13 patients had distant failures and 14 died of cancer, while
3 died due to second primary tumor or sepsis. Only two patients were surviving by
the end of follow-up period.
The median time for development of relapse (n = 14) was 7 months (range: 224 months) and the median interval between confirmed diagnosis of recurrence and
death ranged from 1 week to 11 months (median = 2 months).
The mean TTLG tends to be higher among the patients with poorest survival
(those who survived less than 9 months) compared to those who survived more than 9
months (mean TTLG = 368 & 178, respectively; P = 0.09).
That vigorous cancer behavior may be unleashed by the high metabolic activity
seen at the primary tumor and nodal metastases using TTLG and NSUV, respectively.
It is assumed that this high risk group might be a potential target for clinical
trials involving the use of more aggressive treatment regimens or novel approaches
like target therapy.
Further multicentric prospective clinical trials may be needed to define the
exact clinical impact of these results.
140
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