Yun Jung Choi1, KwanHyeong Jo2, Sang Hyun Hwang3, YongHyu Jeong4, Jung-Yun Lee5, Sunghoon Kim5, Sang Wun Kim5, Young Tae Kim5, Won Jun Kang6. 1. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Graduate School, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea. 2. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Korea University Anam Hospital, Seoul, South Korea. 3. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemungu, Seoul, 03722, South Korea. 4. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Yongin Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Yongin, South Korea. 5. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Institute of Women's Life Medical Science, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea. 6. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemungu, Seoul, 03722, South Korea. mdkwj@yuhs.ac.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Immunotherapy for programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and its ligand, PD-L1, has been considered an effective treatment for ovarian cancer. 18F-labeled fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) is a widely used noninvasive imaging tool for diagnosing several cancers. In this study, we investigated the association between PD-L1 expression and the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) using 18F-FDG PET/CT. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of patients with ovarian cancer who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT. Patients were categorized into two groups according to PD-L1 expression results. The relationship between clinicopathological characteristics of patients with ovarian cancer and PD-L1 expression was examined. RESULTS: SUVmax was significantly higher in PD-L1-positive tumors than in PD-L1-negative tumors (16.1 ± 5.2 and 12.7 ± 7.0, respectively; p = 0.026). There were no significant differences in age, histologic type, and tumor grade between the PD-L1-negative and PD-L1-positive groups. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated that the highest accuracy (61.8%) for predicting PD-L1 expression was obtained with an SUVmax cutoff value of 10.5. CONCLUSION: There was a significant correlation between 18F-FDG uptake and PD-L1 expression, suggesting a role of 18F-FDG PET/CT in selecting ovarian cancer candidates for anti-PD-L1 antibody therapy.
OBJECTIVE: Immunotherapy for programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and its ligand, PD-L1, has been considered an effective treatment for ovarian cancer. 18F-labeled fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) is a widely used noninvasive imaging tool for diagnosing several cancers. In this study, we investigated the association between PD-L1 expression and the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) using 18F-FDG PET/CT. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of patients with ovarian cancer who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT. Patients were categorized into two groups according to PD-L1 expression results. The relationship between clinicopathological characteristics of patients with ovarian cancer and PD-L1 expression was examined. RESULTS: SUVmax was significantly higher in PD-L1-positive tumors than in PD-L1-negative tumors (16.1 ± 5.2 and 12.7 ± 7.0, respectively; p = 0.026). There were no significant differences in age, histologic type, and tumor grade between the PD-L1-negative and PD-L1-positive groups. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated that the highest accuracy (61.8%) for predicting PD-L1 expression was obtained with an SUVmax cutoff value of 10.5. CONCLUSION: There was a significant correlation between 18F-FDG uptake and PD-L1 expression, suggesting a role of 18F-FDG PET/CT in selecting ovarian cancer candidates for anti-PD-L1 antibody therapy.