The maximum uptake of super(18)F-deoxyglucose on positron emission tomography scan correlates with survival, hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha and GLUT-1 in non-small cell lung cancer

• Published in: European journal of cancer (1990) Vol. 43; no. 9; pp. 1392 - 1398
• Main Authors: van Baardwijk, A, Dooms, C, van Suylen, RJ, Verbeken, E, Hochstenbag, M, Dehing-Oberije, C, Rupa, D, Pastorekova, S, Stroobants, S, Buell, U, Lambin, P, Vansteenkiste, J, De Ruysscher, D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.06.2007
• ISSN: 0959-8049
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejca.2007.03.027

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between the standardised uptake value (SUV) on super(18)F-fluoro-2-deoxy-glucose-positron emission tomography scan and hypoxia related markers (HIF-1 alpha and CAIX), a proliferation-related marker (Ki-67) and glucose transporters (GLUT-1 and GLUT-3) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). One hundred and two patients, scheduled for complete resection, received a PET scan in Leuven or Maastricht/Aachen. The maximal SUV (SUV sub(max)) was correlated with survival and immunohisto-chemical staining patterns. The actuarial survival was worse for patients showing a high SUV sub(max), the best discriminative value being 8.0 (Leuven, p = 0.032) and 11.0 (Maastricht, p = 0.007). Tumours with a high SUV sub(max) expressed in a higher proportion HIF-1 alpha (63.1% versus 37.9%, p = 0.024) and GLUT-1 (82.9% versus 62.5%, p = 0.025), than tumours with a low SUV sub(max). No significant difference was found in the expression of CALX, Ki-67 and GLUT-3. This study supports preclinical data that hypoxia is associated with a higher uptake of FDG.