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Annals of Oncology Advance Access published online on November 9, 2009
Annals of Oncology, doi:10.1093/annonc/mdp522
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society for Medical Oncology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Positron emission tomography at the end of first-line therapy and during follow-up in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma: a retrospective study

H. Mocikova*, P. Obrtlikova, B. Vackova and M. Trneny

First Department of Medicine–Department of Haematology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and General University Hospital in Prague, Czech Republic

* Correspondence to: Dr H. Mocikova, First Department of Internal Medicine, General Teaching Hospital, U Nemocnice 2, Prague 12808, Czech Republic. Tel: +420776228413; Fax: +420224963556; E-mail: heidi.mocikova{at}seznam.cz

Background: Routine positron emission tomography (PET) in follow-up of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) after treatment is still controversial. The aim of this retrospective study was to analyze the clinical impact of routine PET examination during the follow-up for relapse detection in PET-negative HL patients at the end of therapy.

Patients and methods: PET scans were carried out in 113 HL patients at the end of therapy and during the follow-up either in regular intervals or in a suspected relapse. Median follow-up of the group was 34 months.

Results: Overall 327 PET scans were evaluated in 113 patients (median three PET scans per patient). At the end of therapy, 94 (83.2%) patients were PET negative and 19 (16.8%) PET positive. Regular follow-up PET scans in 67 of 94 PET-negative patients correctly identified tumor in 6 of 155 PET scans (3.9%). In 27 of 94 patients with clinically suspected relapse, 5 of 27 PET scans (18.5%) confirmed tumor.

Conclusions: Our analysis showed that there is no need for regular follow-up with PET scans in PET-negative patients at the end of therapy: the ratio of true-positive PET scans during the follow-up is low (3.9%). Positive PET at the end of therapy and during follow-up should be evaluated with caution.

follow-up, Hodgkin lymphoma, PET

Received for publication July 9, 2009. Revision received October 5, 2009. Accepted for publication October 13, 2009.


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