Objective 

The aim of the study is to investigate the value of pretreatment integrated positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) in predicting the prognosis of patients with hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HSCC).

Methods 

Twenty-one untreated patients with HSCC who underwent PET/MRI before treatment were enrolled. We analyzed the value of PET/MRI parameters in predicting the progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of HSCC patients. Kaplan-Meier method and log rank test were used to perform univariate survival analysis, whereas Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to perform multivariate analysis.

Results 

Of the 21 patients with a median follow-up time of 20.3 months (range, 4.2–37.6 months), 2 (9.5%) had local recurrence, 2 (9.5%) had distant metastases, and 8 (38.1%) died because of cancer. Univariate analysis showed that T stage, clinical stage, total lesion glycolysis (TLG), and metabolic tumor volume (MTV) were significant prognostic factors for PFS (P < 0.05). T stage, clinical stage, TLG, MTV, the mean apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC_mean), and the minimal apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC_min) were significant prognostic factors for OS (P < 0.05). The Cox proportional hazard regression model revealed that MTV was an independent prognostic factor for PFS, and TLG was an independent prognostic factor for OS (P < 0.05).

Conclusions 

Metabolic tumor volume was an independent predictor of PFS in patients with HSCC, while TLG was an independent predictor of OS. T stage, clinical stage, ADC_mean, and ADC_min are potential prognostic indicators for HSCC. Positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging can provide effective information for predicting the prognosis for HSCC patients.

中文翻译：

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18F-氟脱氧葡萄糖-正电子发射断层扫描/磁共振成像对下咽鳞状细胞癌患者的预后价值

客观的 

本研究旨在探讨治疗前综合正电子发射断层扫描/磁共振成像（PET/MRI）在预测下咽鳞状细胞癌（HSCC）患者预后中的价值。

方法 

招募了 21 名未经治疗的 HSCC 患者，这些患者在治疗前接受了 PET/MRI 检查。我们分析了 PET/MRI 参数在预测 HSCC 患者的无进展生存期 (PFS) 和总生存期 (OS) 中的价值。Kaplan-Meier方法和对数秩检验用于进行单变量生存分析，而Cox比例风险回归模型用于进行多变量分析。

结果 

在中位随访时间为 20.3 个月（范围，4.2-37.6 个月）的 21 例患者中，2 例（9.5%）出现局部复发，2 例（9.5%）出现远处转移，8 例（38.1%）死于癌症。单因素分析显示，T 分期、临床分期、总病灶糖酵解 (TLG) 和代谢肿瘤体积 (MTV) 是 PFS 的重要预后因素（P < 0.05）。T分期、临床分期、TLG、MTV、平均表观扩散系数（ADC _mean）和最小表观扩散系数（ADC _min）是OS的重要预后因素（P < 0.05）。Cox比例风险回归模型显示MTV是PFS的独立预后因素，TLG是OS的独立预后因素（P< 0.05)。

结论 

代谢肿瘤体积是 HSCC 患者 PFS 的独立预测因子，而 TLG 是 OS 的独立预测因子。T 分期、临床分期、ADC_平均值和 ADC_最小值是 HSCC 的潜在预后指标。正电子发射断层扫描/磁共振成像可为预测HSCC患者的预后提供有效信息。