Prognostic significance of the standardized uptake value of pre-therapeutic (18)F-FDG PET in patients with malignant lymphoma.

Metabolic imaging with F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron-emission tomography (PET) is widely used for staging and treatment evaluation of malignant lymphoma. To date, only a few studies have indicated that lower glucose metabolism measured by 18F-FDG PET before or early in the course of treatment of malignant lymphoma is associated with a favorable outcome. The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic capability of the 18F-FDG PET maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), a semiquantitative measurement of glucose metabolism, at the time of diagnosis of malignant lymphoma.

Passive cigarette smoking increases isoprostane formation.

Passive smoking has been demonstrated to exert a variety of deleterious effects eventually resulting in vascular damage. Isoprostanes, a reliable marker of in vivo oxidation injury, have been shown to increase in active cigarette smoking. Data for passive smoking are lacking.