Baseline 18F FDG PET/CT imaging in NSCLC: Possible utility in predicting strong-positive PD-L1 expression

Özge Vural Topuz; Esranur Acar; Nur Büyükpınarbaşılı; Sefa Bayram; Burcu Esen Akkas; Meryem Kaya

doi:10.31067/acusaglik.1549756

EN

Baseline 18F FDG PET/CT imaging in NSCLC: Possible utility in predicting strong-positive PD-L1 expression

Abstract

Background/Purpose: To assess whether 18F FDG PET/CT imaging can predict non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with strong PD-L1 expression (≥50%). Methods: This retrospective study analyzed 149 NSCLC patients who had undergone baseline 18F FDG PET/CT imaging from June 2021 to May 2024. We recorded age, sex, smoking history, histopathology, TNM stage, metastasis, and PD-L1 expression levels. PET/CT parameters such as SUVmax, SUVmean, metabolic tumor volume (MTV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) were recorded. Patients were dichotomized based on two PD-L1 expression thresholds, as measured by immunohistochemistry: higher or lower than 1% (<1%, n = 62 versus >1%, n = 87) and higher or lower than 50% (<50%, n = 100 versus ≥50%, n = 39). Results: No significant results were found for the comparison of PD-L1 negative (<1%) and positive (≥1%) patients. The <50% and ≥50% groups were similar in terms of all examined characteristics and PET/CT parameters except for TLG, which was significantly higher among patients with strong PD-L1 expression. ROC analysis revealed an area under curve of 0.606 (95% CI: 0.508–0.705, p = 0.049) for the discrimination of patients with and without strong PD-L1 expression, yielding 89.7% sensitivity, 30% specificity, and 45.6% overall accuracy. Conclusion: This study identified TLG as a potential predictor for NSCLC patients with strong PD-L1 expression (≥50%) based on 18F FDG PET/CT imaging, despite low accuracy. High sensitivity and negative predictive value suggest a role as a supportive tool in screening.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

yok

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Radiology and Organ Imaging

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Özge Vural Topuz ^*
0000-0001-7197-5866
Türkiye

Esranur Acar
0009-0009-8747-3188
Türkiye

Nur Büyükpınarbaşılı
0000-0002-1784-6665
Türkiye

Sefa Bayram
0000-0001-5144-0741
Türkiye

Burcu Esen Akkas
0000-0001-6623-1600
Türkiye

Meryem Kaya
0000-0002-3328-8173
Türkiye

Early Pub Date

December 10, 2024

Publication Date

January 1, 2025

Submission Date

September 14, 2024

Acceptance Date

November 19, 2024

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 16 Number: 1

DOI

https://doi.org/10.31067/acusaglik.1549756

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA72TT25ZY

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

EndNote

Vural Topuz Ö, Acar E, Büyükpınarbaşılı N, Bayram S, Akkas BE, Kaya M (January 1, 2025) Baseline 18F FDG PET/CT imaging in NSCLC: Possible utility in predicting strong-positive PD-L1 expression. Acıbadem Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi 16 1 164–173.