High standardized uptake values of 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging but not MRI correlates to pathology findings in patients with cervical cancer

OBJECTIVEThis study was to explore the correlation between the standardized uptake value (SUV) of fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) imaging and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to the pathological features of cervical cancer (CC). SUBJECTS AND METHODSThe maximum and mean SUV of 18F-FDG PET/CT (SUVmax and SUVmean) and the minimum ADC (ADCmin) were collected from 72 patients with CC. The correlation between SUVmax and ADCmin was also assessed. Furthermore, the relationship between SUVmax, SUVmin, ADCmin and the clinical pathological characteristics of CC was analyzed. RESULTSA significant increase in the SUVmax was observed in the group of CC cases with lymph node metastases and in the group with distant metastases compared to those without metastases (F=6.782, P=0.002; F=4.483, P=0.015). Furthermore, in the low differentiation groups compared to high/middle differentiation groups (F=3.342,P=0.024), in the squamocellular carcinoma groups compared to the adenocarcinoma and adenosquamous carcinoma groups (F=3.295, P=0.026) and finally in the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage III-IV groups compared with stage III-IV groups (F=3.123, P=0.020).The SUVmean values of the lymph node metastases and distant metastases groups were significantly higher than those without lymph node metastases (F=5.802, P=0.005; F=3.486, P=0.036). We saw no correlation between the ADCmin and lymph node metastases. The SUVmax value had weak correlation with the ADCmin (r=-0.306, P=0.036). The SUVmax is most closely related to the clinical pathological characteristics of CC. CONCLUSIONAn increased SUVmax suggests lymph node metastases or distant metastases, low differentiation and FIGO stage III-IV. A low negative correlation was observed between the SUVmax and ADCmin, while we observed no correlation between the ADCmin and the clinical pathological characteristics of cervical cancer.