Background: Management of patients after locally ablative treatment of liver metastases requires exact information about local control and systemic disease status. To fulfill these requirements, whole-body imaging using positron emission tomography with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG-PET) is a promising alternative to morphologic imaging modalities such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Purpose: To evaluate FDG-PET for the assessment of local control and systemic disease in patients with clinical suspicion of tumor progression after laser-induced thermotherapy (LITT) of colorectal liver metastases. Material and Methods: In 21 patients with suspicion of progressive disease after LITT, whole-body FDG-PET was performed. The presence of viable tumor within treated lesions, new liver metastases, and extrahepatic disease was evaluated visually and semiquantitatively (maximal standard uptake value [SUVmax], tumor-to-normal ratio [T/N]). The standard of reference was histopathology ( n = 25 lesions) and/or clinical follow-up (>12 months) including contrast-enhanced MRI of the liver. Results: Among 54 metastases treated with LITT, 29 had residual tumor. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis of SUVmax (area under the curve (AUC) 0.990) and T/N (AUC 0.968) showed a significant discrimination level of negative or positive lesion status with an equal accuracy of 94% (51/54). The overall accuracy of visual FDG-PET was 96% (52/54), with one false-negative lesion among six examined within 3 days after LITT, and one false-positive lesion examined 54 days after LITT. In the detection of new intra- and extrahepatic lesions, FDG-PET resulted in correct alteration of treatment strategy in 43% of patients ( P = 0.007). Conclusion: FDG-PET is a promising tool for the assessment of local control and whole-body restaging in patients with clinical suspicion of tumor progression after locally ablative treatment of colorectal liver metastases with LITT.
Prolonged portal triad clamping during liver surgery for colorectal liver metastases is associated with decreased time to hepatic tumour recurrence