Definitive chemo-radiotherapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the pharynx: impact of baseline low hemoglobin level (<12 g/dL) and post-radiation therapy F-18 FDG-PET/CT.

Objective: To identify reliable predictors of overall survival (OS), locoregional control (LC), and metastasis-free survival (MFS) after definitive concurrent chemo-radiotherapy (CCRT) for squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the pharynx (nasopharynx, oropharynx and hypopharynx), we examined 16 potential prognostic factors, including pre-treatment hemoglobin level and pre- and post-treatment [(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography CT (F-18 FDG-PET/CT) maximum standardized up-take values (SUVmax) of primary sites and lymph node (LN) regions.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed records of 70 patients treated with definitive CCRT for pharyngeal cancer in our institution during July 2006-April 2012, with particular regard to 16 prognostic factors: age, sex, T stage, N stage, retropharyngeal LN (RPLN) involvement, existence of multiple primary cancer, treatment interruptions, overall treatment time, chemotherapy type, pre-treatment hemoglobin level, pre-treatment body mass index, enteral feeding period, and pre- and post-treatment F-18 FDG-PET/CT SUVmax of primary site and LN region. All patients in our cohort underwent pre- and post-treatment F-18 FDG-PET/CT.