End-of-Treatment PET/Computed Tomography Response in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma.

"PET imaging with fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), integrated with PET/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT), is an effective management tool of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The results of end-of-treatment (EOT) FDG-PET/CT are more accurate for detection of active disease with residual masses on CT. Complete response defined by EOT FDG-PET/CT (PET-CR) correlates with long-term outcome of patients. Treatment efficacy is determined using EOT PET/CT rather than progression-free survival (PFS) for clinical trials assessing novel drugs. If the correlation of EOT PET/CT with PFS is further proven in large studies and meta-analyses, EOT PET-CR could serve as an expedited novel endpoint replacing PFS."