PET After One Chemo Cycle in Hodgkin's Has Predictive Value

A new study indicates that undergoing a PET scan after one cycle of chemotherapy for Hodgkin's is strongly predictive of patients with more favorable outcomes.

Currently the survival rate of most patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma is very high, but this doesn't mean they are exempt from the long-term effects of treatment. This study acknowledged that prior trials have shown that FDG-PET/CT after second and third cycles of chemotherapy is a strong prognostic indicator, and so researchers wanted to see if there was similar prognostic value in doing such a scan following just a single cycle of chemotherapy.

In this prospective, multicenter, observational trial of 126 patients diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, all patients underwent a PET/CT scan following one cycle of chemotherapy (PET1). Also, 89 patients underwent another scan after the second round of chemotherapy (PET2).

Primary outcomes were progression-free survival, overall survival and end of treatment response.

Researchers concluded that patients with negative findings on PET scans after one round of chemo had significantly increased progression free and overall survival compared to those with positive findings after PET1. They went on to suggest that negative FDG-PET/CT after the first cycle of chemotherapy might aide doctors in selecting patients for less intensive chemotherapy regimens, and therefore spare those patients unnecessary exposure to chemo, and thus lessen the likelihood of them developing long-term effects.

Source: JCO