Background: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare but lethal malignancy with few reliable prognostic markers. FDG-PET metabolic parameters have been shown to predict survival in several cancers. The objective was to determine if metabolic tumor volume (MTV), total lesion glycolysis (TLG), and maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) could serve as prognostic markers in patients with ACC.
Methods: A total of 30 patients with ACC prospectively underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT prior to treatment. Whole body MTV, TLG, and SUVmax were measured by a semiautomatic method. A median cutoff was used to determine an association with overall survival (OS) from the time of 18F-FDG PET/CT by the Kaplan-Meier method.
Results: Patients with high whole body MTV (>87.0 mL),TLG (>229.4 SUVlbm*mL), or SUVmax (>8.9 SUV) had a worse OS compared with those with low whole body MTV (median OS, 24 vs 45.1 months, p < .01), TLG (median OS, 24 vs 40.3 months, p < .005), or SUVmax (median OS, 23.7 vs 35.5 months, p < .02). In patients who had operable disease (n = 23), high whole body MTV (>87.0 mL) and TLG (>229.4 SUVlbm*mL) had a worse OS compared with those with low whole body MTV (median OS, 25.1 vs 45.1 months, p < .05) and TLG (median OS, 25.1 vs 40.3 months, p < .05), but a high SUVmax (>8.9 SUV) was not associated with worse OS (p = .11).
Conclusions: Patients with ACC and a high whole body MTV, TLG, and SUVmax have a worse prognosis and OS. Measurement of whole body MTV and TLG may be helpful for guiding therapy for patients with ACC.