Dynamic evaluation of the prognostic of extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type (ENKTL) with 18F-FDG PET/CT

Introduction: To evaluate the prognostic significance of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT in ma, nasal type (ENKTL).

Methods: Patients received methotrexate, etoposide, dexamethasone and pegaspargase (MESA) regimen and pre-, mid-, and end- treatment ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT scans were retrospectively analyzed. Deauville score (DS), maximal standardized uptake values (SUVmax) and the change of SUVmax (ΔSUVmax) were recorded for response assessment. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed to assess the effects on overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). A P value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: Forty-one patients with newly diagnosed ENKTL were analyzed. The median follow-up period was 45 months (range, 3-64 months). The 2-y OS and PFS were 83.0% and 76.0%, respectively. Univariate analysis revealed that pre-treatment Ann Arbor stage (P = 0.002), mid-treatment DS (P = 0.021), mid-SUVmax (P < 0.001), mid-∆SUVmax (P = 0.007), end-treatment DS (P = 0.001), end-SUVmax (P = 0.017) and end-∆SUVmax (P = 0.037) were prognostic factors for OS. Pre-treatment Ann Arbor stage (P = 0.006), mid-treatment DS (P = 0.011), SUVmax (P = 0.015), ∆SUVmax (P = 0.011) and end-treatment DS (P =0.018) were of prognostic significance for PFS. Multivariate analysis showed that DS at the end of treatment is the only significant independent predictor of PFS (P = 0.019).

Conclusions: For ENKTL, staging, pre-, mid- and end-treatment ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT are useful for prognosis predicting. DS at the end of treatment is the only significant independent predictor of PFS.