FDG-PET predicts chemo response in ovarian cancer

Changes in FDG uptake after subsequent cycles of neoadjuvant therapy can predict long-term patient survival. Researchers from the Technical University of Munich reported these findings at the Society of Nuclear Medicine meeting in June.

Dr. Stefanie Sassen and colleagues enrolled 33 patients who underwent FDG-PET imaging of the abdomen and pelvis before and after carboplatin-based chemotherapy. Patients went on to debulking surgery after chemo and were monitored for three years.

The researchers observed a significant correlation between FDG-PET uptake changes and patient survival after the first and third cycles of therapy. Overall survival of patients classified as responders and nonresponders to FDG-PET was 38.9 months and 19.7 months, respectively.