Background: The prognostic value of the first posttreatment whole body integrated positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) scanning in patients with sinonasal/skull base malignancies is undetermined.
Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the data of all patients that underwent surgery for sinonasal/skull base malignancies in 2000-2015. The results of the pretreatment and posttreatment PET/CT findings and the clinical course were retrieved.
Results: Thirty-eight patients (average age 60.6 years, 20 males) were included. Sensitivity and specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the first PET/CT scan for predicting persistent/recurrent disease were 85.7%, 87.5%, 80%, and 91.3%, respectively. Overall 5-year survival was significantly lower in the first posttreatment PET/CT-positive group (35%) compared to the PET/CT-negative group (93%) (P = .0008).
Conclusion: Posttreatment PET/CT findings are highly prognostic in patients with sinonasal/skull base malignancies. Negative findings on the first posttreatment PET/CT scan predict a significantly better overall survival.
Keywords: PET/CT; prognosis; sinonasal malignancy; skull base; survival.
© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.