18F-FDG-PET metabolic metrics and International Prognostic Score for risk assessment in HIV-infected patients with Hodgkin lymphoma.

Objectives: Baseline metabolic metrics on fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose PET (F-FDG PET) have prognostic value in Hodgkin lymphoma. International Prognostic Score (IPS) is used in the risk stratification of Hodgkin lymphoma. We compared the metabolic indices in HIV-infected and the IPS in HIV-infected and uninfected patients with Hodgkin lymphoma.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the data of HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected patients with classic Hodgkin lymphoma who had F-FDG PET for staging and compared the maximum standardized uptake value, mean standardized uptake value, metabolic tumor volume, and total lesion glycolysis between the two groups. We also compared the IPS and other prognostic indicators and correlated them with the metabolic indices in the two groups.

Results: We studied 160 patients, which included 57 patients who were infected with HIV. The mean age was 33.84±11.88 years, with 38% (n=61) being female. The median cluster of differentiation 4 count and HIV viral load were 259 cells/mm and 4837.50 copies/ml, respectively. No significant difference in maximum standardized uptake value, mean standardized uptake value, metabolic tumor volume, and total lesion glycolysis between the two groups was found. Among the seven parameters of the IPS, only male sex (HIV-uninfected group higher, P=0.005) and serum albumin less than 4 g/dl were significantly different. The other parameters were not significantly different between the two groups. Other prognostic indicators including bulky disease, extranodal involvement, and the number of nodal groups involved were not significantly different between the two groups.

Conclusion: There was no significant difference in F-FDG metabolic parameters, IPS, and other risk indicators between HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected patients with Hodgkin lymphoma.