The Correlation Between 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose-Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography Semiquantitative Parameters and the Clinical Features and Pathological Biological Indexes of Gastric Cancer

Abstract

Objective: This study explored the application value of the maximum standard uptake value (SUV_max) of ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT) in gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: Data of 164 patients with gastric cancer who had undergone¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT before a biopsy were collected, and the correlation of SUV_max with clinical stage, pathological differentiation degree, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) status, and Ki-67 index of gastric cancer was analyzed. Results: The SUV_max of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma was significantly higher than that of moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma and signet-ring cell carcinoma (p < 0.01), and SUV_max in the well-differentiated adenocarcinoma group was higher than that in the signet-ring cell carcinoma group (p < 0.01). The SUV_max in the HER-2 negative group was higher than that in the HER-2 positive group (p < 0.01). The SUV_max was higher in the Ki-67 high expression group than in the low expression group (p < 0.01), and there was a significant positive correlation between the two (p < 0.01). Conclusion: ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT SUV_max can, to some extent, predict the degree of differentiation, HER-2 status, and Ki-67 index of gastric cancer patients.

Keywords: differentiation degree; fluorine-18-fludeoxyglucose; gastric cancer; positron emission tomography/computed tomography; standard uptake value.