Usefulness of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography as predictor of distant metastasis in preoperative carbon-ion radiotherapy for pancreatic cancer.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of FDG-PET regarding the indication of preoperative carbon-ion radiotherapy (CIRT) for pancreatic cancer patients.

Patients And Methods: Patients with resectable pancreatic cancer underwent preoperative CIRT. The impact of baseline SUVmax on prognosis for patients was assessed by analyzing correlations with distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) and overall survival (OS).

Results: Out of 21 patients, local recurrence was observed in no patient and distant metastasis was found in 13 patients (62%). 1-year DMFS and OS in low-SUVmax group were significantly higher than those in high-SUVmax group (91% vs. 20% and 91% vs. 56%). SUVmax was significantly correlated with DMFS and OS.

Conclusion: Our data indicated a significant correlation between SUVmax and DMFS. FDG-PET might be useful for determining the indication of preoperative short-course CIRT for patients with resectable pancreatic cancer.