The Association between the Body Mass Index, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and SUV of the Non-Tumorous Lung in the Pretreatment [18F]FDG-PET/CT of Patients with Lung Cancer

Wehlte, Lukas ; Walter, Julia ; Daisenberger, Lea; Kuhnle, Felix; Ingenerf, Maria Katharina ; Schmid-Tannwald, Christine; Brendel, Matthias ; Kauffmann-Guerrero, Diego ; Heinzerling, Lucie ; Tufman, Amanda; Pfluger, Thomas und Völter, Friederike (2024): The Association between the Body Mass Index, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and SUV of the Non-Tumorous Lung in the Pretreatment [18F]FDG-PET/CT of Patients with Lung Cancer. In: Diagnostics, Vol. 14, No. 11, 1139

Abstract

Background: A debate persists on the prognostic value of the pre-therapeutic standardized uptake value (SUV) of non-tumorous lung tissue for the risk assessment of therapy-related pneumonitis, with most studies lacking significant correlation. However, the influence of patient comorbidities on the pre-therapeutic lung SUV has not yet been systematically evaluated. Thus, we aimed to elucidate the association between comorbidities, biological variables and lung SUVs in pre-therapeutic [18F]FDG-PET/CT. Methods: In this retrospective study, the pre-therapeutic SUV in [18F]FDG-PET/CT was measured in non-tumorous areas of both lobes of the lung. SUVMEAN, SUVMAX and SUV95 were compared to a multitude of patient characteristics and comorbidities with Spearman’s correlation analysis, followed by a Bonferroni correction and multilinear regression. Results: In total, 240 patients with lung cancer were analyzed. An elevated BMI was significantly associated with increased SUVMAX (β = 0.037, p < 0.001), SUVMEAN (β = 0.017, p < 0.001) and SUV95 (β = 0.028, p < 0.001). Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) showed a significantly decreased SUVMAX (β = −0.156, p = 0.001), SUVMEAN (β = −0.107, p < 0.001) and SUV95 (β = −0.134, p < 0.001). Multiple other comorbidities did not show a significant correlation with the SUV of the non-tumorous lung. Conclusions: Failure to consider the influence of BMI and COPD on the pre-therapeutic SUV measurements may lead to an erroneous interpretation of the pre-therapeutic SUV and subsequent treatment decisions in patients with lung cancer.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Faculties: Medicine > Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy); Medicine > Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (ISD); Medicine > Medical Center of the University of Munich > Clinic and Polyclinic for Dermatology and Allergology; Medicine > Medical Center of the University of Munich > Medical Clinic and Outpatient Clinic III (Oncology); Medicine > Medical Center of the University of Munich > Medical Clinic and Outpatient Clinic V (Pneumology); Medicine > Medical Center of the University of Munich > Clinic and Polyclinic for Nuclear Medicine; Medicine > Medical Center of the University of Munich > Clinic and Polyclinic for Radiology
• Subjects: 600 Technology > 610 Medicine and health
• ISSN: 2075-4418
• Language: English
• DFG: Gefördert durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - 390857198