PET-based prognostic survival model after radiotherapy for head and neck cancer.

Purpose: The aims of this multicentre retrospective study of locally advanced head and neck cancer (LAHNC) treated with definitive radiotherapy were to (1) identify positron emission tomography (PET)-F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) parameters correlated with overall survival (OS) in a training cohort, (2) compute a prognostic model, and (3) externally validate this model in an independent cohort.

Materials And Methods: A total of 237 consecutive LAHNC patients divided into training (n = 127) and validation cohorts (n = 110) were retrospectively analysed. The following PET parameters were analysed: SUV, metabolic tumour volume (MTV), total lesion glycolysis (TLG), and SUV for the primary tumour and lymph nodes using a relative SUV threshold or an absolute SUV threshold.