Association Between 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Uptake and Mutation Status of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor in Sinonasal Tract Cancer

Abstract

Background/aim: The Warburg effect of cancer has been applied to detect various carcinomas though the 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) uptake on positron emission tomography with computed tomography (PET/CT). 18F-FDG-PET/CT in lung cancer predicted the mutation status of epidermoid growth factor receptor (EGFR). This study aimed to investigate whether 18F-FDG uptake parameters were significantly related to EGFR mutation status in patients with sinonasal tract squamous cell carcinoma (STSCC).

Patients and methods: Twenty-nine tumor specimens of primary STSCC from patients with definitive treatment were collected.

Results: The 18F-FDG uptake from primary tumors was not different between mutant- and wild-status of EGFR on either Mann-Whitney U-test or the receiver operating curve. A metabolic tumor volume of ≥25 with the minimum p-value from the log-rank test for STSCC-specific survival was associated with a significantly shorter STSCC-specific, disease-free, local recurrence-free survival on the univariate and multivariate analyses adjusted for the clinical stage, treatment, and EGFR status.

Conclusion: 18F-FDG-PET/CT did not predict mutation of the EGFR status in STSCC.

Keywords: 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake; metabolic tumor volume; mutation status of epidermoid growth factor receptor; sinonasal tract; squamous cell carcinoma.