Predictive value of initial 18F-FLT uptake in patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma receiving R-CHOP treatment

tine, and prednisone)–like chemotherapy is the standard ther-apy in aggressive B-cell lymphoma. 18F-FDG PET has high prognostic implications at treatment completion but is limited as an early predictor. Here, we present the results of a prospec-tive study correlating the initial uptake of the in vivo proliferation marker 39-deoxy-39-18F-fluorothymidine (18F-FLT) with the clin-ical outcome of patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin lym-phoma treated with R-CHOP. Methods: Sixty-six eligible patients were evaluated prospectively with 18F-FLT PET before R-CHOP. PET was performed 45 min after injection of 300–370 MBq of 18F-FLT. Mean and maximum standardized uptake values (SUVs) were calculated on a lesion-by-lesion basis. Response was assessed at the end of therapy. International Prognostic Index (IPI) scores and clinical parameters (Ann Arbor stage, lactate dehydrogenase, performance status, extranoda