USE OF POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CHEMOTHERAPY IN PATIENTS WITH HEAD AND NECK-CANCER

Positron emission tomography (PET) demonstrates the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of multiple metabolic pathways. In a prospective study we evaluated the metabolism of glucose in the tumors of ten patients suffering from head and neck cancer before and after chemotherapy with cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil. Using 18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), it was possible to show changes in tumor metabolism after chemotherapy. In general, chemotherapy reduced the volume of the primary tumor and the lymph nodes. There was a linear relation between the changes in metabolism and growth rate, but in a few patients the lymph nodes and the primary tumor showed a different metabolic reaction. With FDG metabolism and PET we were able to determine the response rate of the tumor in vivo before chemotherapy.