Prognostic role of early 18-FDG PET/CT during neoadjuvant chemotherapy for resectable adenocarcinoma of the esophagus and esophagogastric junction.

We prospectively investigated whether metabolic response assessed by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography (PET/CT) early in the course of neoadjuvant chemotherapy is predictive of survival in patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagus and esophagogastric junction. PET/CT was performed before and in the third week after the initiation of the first cycle of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, which consisted of epirubicin, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil or capecitabine. The metabolic response was defined as a relative decrease in the peak standardized uptake value (SUL) of the tumor by ≥35% or total lesion glycolysis (TLG) by ≥66%.