Abstract:
Objective To investigate the relationship between 2-deoxy-2-fluorine-18fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography/ computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) parameters and HER2 expression in patients with gastric cancer.
Methods In total, 115 patients with gastric cancer from The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, confirmed by surgical pathology, were enrolled in this study. PET/ CT was performed before surgery. The maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), metabolic tumor volume (MTV), total lesion glycolysis (TLG), and HER2 expression in primary tumors were measured. To evaluate the correlation between PET/CT measurements and HER2 expression by univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analyses, 17 HER2-positive and 98 HER2-negative patients were analyzed.
Results There were no statistical differences in SUVmax, MTV, and TLG between the HER2-positive and HER2-negative groups (P>0.05 for all comparisons). When signet-ring cell carcinoma patients were excluded from the analysis (n=105), the MTV and TLG were significantly lower in the HER2-positive group than in the HER2-negative group MTV: 12.6 (range 8.4, 18.7) vs. 23.7 (range 14.4, 32.9), P=0.002; TLG: 35.3 (range 20.8, 68.1) vs. 69.9 (range 44.2, 173.3), P < 0.001. The cut-off values for MTV and TLG were 24.3 cm3 and 35.9 g, respectively, and the accuracies of MTV and TLG for predicting HER2 expression were 57.1% and 80.9%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that the degree of tumor differentiation, pathological classification, MTV, and TLG were correlated with HER2 expression. Intestinal type gastric cancer odds ratio (OR)=6.804, P=0.009 and TLG ≤35.9 g (OR=4.600, P=0.029) were predictive factors for HER2 expression in multivariate Logistic regression analysis.
Conclusions TLG of primary gastric tumors, except signet-ring cell carcinoma, could predict HER2 expression and be used to guide treatment decisions.