Texture analysis of [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography for predicting the treatment response of postoperative recurrent or metastatic oral squamous cell carcinoma treated with cetuximab

• Published in: Annals of nuclear medicine Vol. 35; no. 8; pp. 871 - 880
• Main Authors: Kim, Mai, Gu, Wenchao, Nakajima, Takahito, Higuchi, Tetsuya, Ogawa, Masaru, Shimizu, Takahiro, Yamaguchi, Takahiro, Takahashi, Ayako, Tsushima, Yoshito, Yokoo, Satoshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore Springer Singapore 01.08.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - diagnostic imaging; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - drug therapy; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - pathology; Cetuximab - pharmacology; Cetuximab - therapeutic use; Computed tomography; Correlation coefficients; Emission analysis; Evaluation; Female; Fluorine; Fluorine isotopes; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Imaging; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metastases; Metastasis; Middle Aged; Monoclonal antibodies; Mouth Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Mouth Neoplasms - drug therapy; Mouth Neoplasms - pathology; Neoplasm Metastasis; Nonuniformity; Nuclear Medicine; Oral cancer; Oral squamous cell carcinoma; Original Article; Patients; Positron emission; Positron emission tomography; Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography; Postoperative Period; Radiology; Recurrence; Regression analysis; Retrospective Studies; Solid tumors; Squamous cell carcinoma; Targeted cancer therapy; Texture; Tomography; Treatment Outcome; Tumors; Texture analysis; Metabolic tumor volume; Postoperative recurrent or metastatic oral cancer; Positron emission tomography image
• ISSN: 0914-7187; 1864-6433
• DOI: 10.1007/s12149-021-01623-6

Objective To assess the value of the texture analysis of fluorine- 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography ( 18 F-FDG-PET/CT) in predicting the treatment response of postoperative recurrent or metastatic oral squamous cell carcinoma (POR/M-OSCC) treated with cetuximab. Methods A total of 14 patients undergoing 18 F-FDG-PET/CT with POR/M-OSCC were divided into the responder and non-responder groups according to cetuximab response by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST). The regions of interest (ROI) were set at the POR/M-OSCC lesions with the highest uptake of 18 F-FDG, and the volumetric and texture features were analyzed. The features with correlation coefficient of 0.6 or more were further evaluated using the logistic regression analysis to create a model. Results The SHAPE Volume(vx) , SHAPE Volume(mL) , metabolic tumor volume (MTV), and gray-level run-length matrix run-length nonuniformity (GLRLM RLNU ) were significantly different between the responder ( n  = 6) and non-responder ( n  = 8) groups ( p  = 0.044, 0.042, 0.047, and 0.012, respectively). The model’s area under the curve (AUC) was found to be 0.83, 0.83, 0.79, and 0.92, respectively. The heatmap with PET feature dendrogram showed four distinct clusters including them in patient’s responder and non-responder groups. Conclusions Higher MTV, GLRLM RLNU , SHAPE Volume(vx) , and SHAPE Volume(mL) in 18 F-FDG-PET images may have the prediction values for treatment response with POR/M-OSCC treated with cetuximab.