| Purpose:The purpose of this meta-analysis was to estimate the prognostic value of metabolic tumor volume, measured using fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET-CT), in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).Methods:Systematic literature searches were applied to PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science databases until February2014. Pooled measure was calculated from the available data to evaluate the association between metabolic tumor volume and overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and local-regional free rate(LRF) in HNSCC patients. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) with95%confidence interval (95%CI) were calculated to estimate the effect using a random effect model. Statistical analysis was performed with Stata12.0Results:A total of756patients from ten eligible studies were included in the analysis. The pooled survival data suggested worse OS, PFS and LRF in patients with larger metabolic tumor volumes, and the hazard ratios (HRs) were2.01(95%CI:1.69-2.38, p=0.000, I2=32.7%, p=0.146),1.99(95%CI:1.55-2.57,p=0.000, I2=0.00%, p=0.452), and3.15(95%CI:2.04-4.87, p=0.000, I2=26.4%, p=0.253) respectively.Conclusions:MTV measured on patients with HNSCC, reflecting the metabolic activity of tumor and malignancy, could serve as a prognostic factor. Future fundamental investigations and randomized controlled investigations with large samples are needed to assess the value of volumetric staging in HNSCC patients. |
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