Abstract LB-296: FDG-PET avidity negatively impacts survival in pStage I NSCLC in the ACOSOG Z4031 trial.
Authors: Grogan Eric L. , Deppen Stephen A. , Chen Heidi , Ballman Karla V. , Verdial Francys C. , Aldrich Melinda C. , Decker Paul A. , Harpole David H. , Cerfolio Robert J. , Keenan Robert J. , Jones David R. , D'Amico Thomas A. , Shrager Joseph B. , Meyers Bryan F. , Putnam Joe B. 
Published: August 2014

Background: Fluoro-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) scans are used for diagnosis and staging of known or suspected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Single institution studies examining the impact of avidity on survival have reported mixed results. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the association between FDG-PET avidity and survival in the national prospective ACOSOG Z4031 trial in patients with pathological Stage I NSCLC.

Methods: Between 2004 and 2006, 1074 patients with known or suspected clinical stage I (cT1-2N0M0) NSCLC were enrolled in the ACOSOG Z4031 trial and underwent surgical resection. FDG-PET results were abstracted from radiology interpretations included in the case report forms. FDG-PET avidity was categorized based on either radiologist description or reported maximum standard uptake value (SUV). The four categories were: 1) not avid and not cancerous (SUV=0), 2) low avidity and likely not cancerous (SUV&gt;0 and &lt;2.5), 3) avid and probably cancerous (SUV≥2.5 and &lt;5) and 4) highly avid and likely cancerous (SUV≥5). The lesion was classified as avid if in categories 3 or 4. The final diagnosis was determined by pathological examination and all cause mortality was reported. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to assess the impact of FDG-PET avidity on survival. The covariates used in the model included pStage, gender, age, race, and preoperative lesion size. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were calculated and the log-rank test was used to determine differences in survival based on FDG-PET avidity.

Results: There were 51 enrolling sites in 39 cities with 969 eligible participants. Preoperative FDG-PET results were available for 540 participants with NSCLC and 81% had FDG-PET avid or highly avid lesions. 400 patients had pStage I NSCLC and the 5 year survival was 70% with 95%CI (65%, 75%). FDG-PET avidity, male gender, age, and lesion size negatively impacted survival. FDG-PET avidity in pStage I disease still negatively impacted survival (p=0.03) when controlling for lesion size. The 5 year survival for Stage I disease was 80% with 95%CI (68%, 88%) in FDG-PET negative patients and 67% with 95% CI (61%, 72%) in FDG-PET positive patients (p=0.02).

Conclusions: In a national surgical population with pathological stage I NSCLC, FDG-PET avidity negatively impacted five year survival, independently of lesion size. Further work should be done to determine if chemotherapy would be beneficial in patients with PET avid lesions and pStage I NSCLC.

Citation Format: Eric L. Grogan, Stephen A. Deppen, Heidi Chen, Karla V. Ballman, Francys C. Verdial, Melinda C. Aldrich, Paul A. Decker, David H. Harpole, Robert J. Cerfolio, Robert J. Keenan, David R. Jones, Thomas A. D'Amico, Joseph B. Shrager, Bryan F. Meyers, Joe B. Putnam. FDG-PET avidity negatively impacts survival in pStage I NSCLC in the ACOSOG Z4031 trial. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-296. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-LB-296