Prognostic Significance of Pretreatment 18F-FDG PET/CT Volumetric Parameters in Patients With Colorectal Liver Metastasis

Purpose Colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM) remains a clinical challenge due to the lack of reliable prognostic parameters. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the prognostic value of pretreatment 18 F-FDG PET/CT volumetric parameters for hepatic metastatic lesions (HMLs) in patients with CRLM. Methods A systematic search was performed using the following combination of keywords: CRLM, FDG, PET, and prognosis. The inclusion criteria were studies using 18 F-FDG PET/CT as an imaging tool before treatment, including volumetric parameters (metabolic tumor volume [MTV] and total lesion glycolysis [TLG]) for HMLs, and reported survival data. Event-free survival and overall survival were considered as survival markers. The effect on survival was determined by the effect size of the hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results Our systematic search identified 668 records, and a total of 10 studies comprising 494 patients were included. The pooled HRs of the prognostic value of the MTV and TLG for event-free survival were 1.55 (95% CI, 1.21–1.99; P = 0.0006) and 1.64 (95% CI, 1.23–2.19; P = 0.0009) with significance, respectively. The pooled HRs of the prognostic value of the MTV and TLG for overall survival were 1.72 (95% CI, 1.32–2.23; P < 0.0001) and 2.09 (95% CI, 1.48–2.96; P < 0.0001) with significance, respectively. Conclusions Higher MTV and TLG for HMLs before treatment were identified as worse prognostic parameters in patients with CRLM. The MTV and TLG of 18 F-FDG PET/CT could be used as predictors of prognosis.