{"database":"biostudies-literature","file_versions":[],"scores":null,"additional":{"omics_type":["Unknown"],"volume":["9(4)"],"submitter":["Courtney PT"],"funding":["National Institutes of Health/National Center for Advancing Translational Science"],"pubmed_abstract":["<h4>Background</h4>Residual or recurrent cancer after surgery but prior to adjuvant therapy occurs in a proportion of patients with head and neck cancer and may warrant treatment changes. 18-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) may help to identify residual or recurrent disease but is not routinely obtained. We evaluated the relevance of postoperative FDG-PET/CT in this clinical context.<h4>Methods</h4>This single-institution, retrospective study identified patients with head and neck cancer who underwent definitive surgery between January 1, 2013, and April 1, 2023, and received a postoperative FDG-PET/CT prior to adjuvant treatment. We measured the rates of management changes resulting from postoperative FDG-PET/CT findings and the association between having a postoperative FDG-PET/CT which resulted in a management change and oncologic outcomes with selected multivariable competing-risks and proportional hazards regressions.<h4>Results</h4>Of 150 patients, 66 (44.0%) had a management change because of the postoperative FDG-PET/CT findings; 62 (93.8%) had radiotherapy plan changes, 20 (30.3%) underwent additional diagnostic testing, 11 (16.7%) had systemic therapy added or changed, 3 (4.6%) underwent reresection, and 15 (10.0%) switched to palliative-intent treatment. Having a postoperative FDG-PET/CT that resulted in a management change was not significantly associated with cancer recurrence or overall survival (both P > .05).<h4>Conclusions</h4>In patients with resected head and neck cancer, postoperative, pre-adjuvant therapy FDG-PET/CT can alter clinical management and may enable additional personalization of treatment. When practical to obtain without delaying treatment, postoperative FDG-PET/CT may have clinical utility though requires careful interpretation due to the risks of false positives."],"journal":["JNCI cancer spectrum"],"pagination":["pkaf077"],"full_dataset_link":["https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12349773"],"repository":["biostudies-literature"],"pubmed_title":["Impact of postoperative fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography on adjuvant head and neck cancer treatment."],"pmcid":["PMC12349773"],"pubmed_authors":["Nabili V","Jafarvand MG","Bahri S","Savjani RR","Steinberg ML","St John MA","Kedeshian PA","Sercarz JA","Chau LW","Chai-Ho W","Lee JK","Reddy VK","Chin RK","Lopez-Chicas RE","Blackwell KE","Chhetri DK","Courtney PT","Kerr RP","Juarez Casillas JE","Jank E","Abemayor E","Wong DJ","Liu EY","Wang MB","Sim MS","Gopen QS","Suh JD"],"additional_accession":[]},"is_claimable":false,"name":"Impact of postoperative fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography on adjuvant head and neck cancer treatment.","description":"<h4>Background</h4>Residual or recurrent cancer after surgery but prior to adjuvant therapy occurs in a proportion of patients with head and neck cancer and may warrant treatment changes. 18-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) may help to identify residual or recurrent disease but is not routinely obtained. We evaluated the relevance of postoperative FDG-PET/CT in this clinical context.<h4>Methods</h4>This single-institution, retrospective study identified patients with head and neck cancer who underwent definitive surgery between January 1, 2013, and April 1, 2023, and received a postoperative FDG-PET/CT prior to adjuvant treatment. We measured the rates of management changes resulting from postoperative FDG-PET/CT findings and the association between having a postoperative FDG-PET/CT which resulted in a management change and oncologic outcomes with selected multivariable competing-risks and proportional hazards regressions.<h4>Results</h4>Of 150 patients, 66 (44.0%) had a management change because of the postoperative FDG-PET/CT findings; 62 (93.8%) had radiotherapy plan changes, 20 (30.3%) underwent additional diagnostic testing, 11 (16.7%) had systemic therapy added or changed, 3 (4.6%) underwent reresection, and 15 (10.0%) switched to palliative-intent treatment. Having a postoperative FDG-PET/CT that resulted in a management change was not significantly associated with cancer recurrence or overall survival (both P > .05).<h4>Conclusions</h4>In patients with resected head and neck cancer, postoperative, pre-adjuvant therapy FDG-PET/CT can alter clinical management and may enable additional personalization of treatment. When practical to obtain without delaying treatment, postoperative FDG-PET/CT may have clinical utility though requires careful interpretation due to the risks of false positives.","dates":{"release":"2025-01-01T00:00:00Z","publication":"2025 Jul","modification":"2026-04-07T14:38:50.108Z","creation":"2026-04-07T14:12:34.79Z"},"accession":"S-EPMC12349773","cross_references":{"pubmed":["40700605"],"doi":["10.1093/jncics/pkaf077"]}}