Impact of FDG-PET/CT Imaging on Nodal Staging for Head-And-Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) imaging on nodal staging for head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Methods and Materials: The study population consisted of 23 patients with head-and-neck SCC who were evaluated with FDG-PET/CT and went on to neck dissection. Two observers consensually determined the lesion size and maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max ) and compared the results with pathologic findings on nodal-level involvement. Two different observers (A and B) independently performed three protocols for clinical nodal staging. Methods 1, 2, and 3 were based on conventional modalities, additional visual information from FDG-PET/CT images, and FDG-PET/CT imaging alone with SUV data, respectively. Results: All primary tumors were visualized with FDG-PET/CT. Pathologically, 19 positive and 93 negative nodal levels were identified. The SUV max overlapped in negative and positive nodes max cutoff values were 1.9, 2.5, and 3.0 for lymph nodes 15 mm, respectively. These cutoff values yielded 79% sensitivity and 99% specificity for nodal-level staging. For Observer A, the sensitivity and specificity in Methods 1, 2, and 3 were 68% and 94%, 68% and 99%, and 84% and 99%, respectively, and Method 3 yielded significantly higher accuracy than Method 1 ( p = 0.0269). For Observer B, Method 3 yielded the highest sensitivity (84%) and specificity (99%); however, the difference among the three protocols was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Imaging with FDG-PET/CT with size-based SUV max cutoff values is an important modality for radiation therapy planning.