Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) Positron Emission Tomography (PET/CT) and metabolic features in advanced rectal cancer: additional information at initial staging and after neoadjuvant therapy

Aim: PET/CT has been provided to be useful in staging of colorectal cancer for detecting extra\u2010hepatic disease in high risk patients and for examine for postoperative recurrence of disease. We aimed to evaluate the additional information provided by FDG PET/CT from qualitative and quantitative analysis in patients with advanced rectal cancer. Materials and methods: at our Institution, we prospectively evaluated 30 patients (21 males; mean age: 65\ub112 years) with rectal cancer, who underwent FDG PET/CT for initial staging. PET/CT findings and the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) obtained by the analysis of the images were compared with clinical stage of disease and with response to neoadjuvant treatment (chemotherapy plus radiotherapy). A patient\u2010based analysis was used. A p value