Prognostic value of subventricular zone involvement in relation to tumor volumes defined by fused MRI and O-(2-[(18)F]fluoroethyl)-L-tyrosine (FET) PET imaging in glioblastoma multiforme

BACKGROUND: Subventricular zone (SVZ) involvement is associated with a dismal prognosis in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Dual-time point (dtp) O-(2-[(18)F]fluoroethyl)-L-tyrosine (FET) PET/CT (PET) may be a time- and cost-effective alternative to dynamic FET PET, but its prognostic value, particularly with respect to SVZ involvement, is unknown. METHODS: Thirty-five patients had two scans 5–15 and 50–60 min after i.v. FET injection to define tumor volumes and SVZ involvement before starting radiotherapy. Associations between clinical progression markers, MRI- and dtp FET PET-based tumor volumes, or SVZ involvement and progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were assessed in univariable and multivariable analyses. RESULTS: The extent of resection was not related to outcomes. Albeit non-significant, dtp FET PET detected more SVZ infiltration than MRI (60% vs. 51%, p = 0.25) and was significantly associated with poor survival (p < 0.03), but PET-T1-Gad volumes were larger in this group (p < 0.002). Survival was shorter in patients with larger MRI tumor volumes, larger PET tumor volumes, and worse Karnofsky performance status (KPS), with fused PET-T1-Gad and KPS significant in multivariable analysis (p < 0.03). Uptake kinetics was not associated with treatment outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: FET PET-based tumor volumes may be useful for predicting worse prognosis glioblastoma. Although the presence of SVZ infiltration is linked to higher PET/MRI-based tumor volumes, the independent value of dtp FET PET parameters and SVZ infiltration as prognostic markers pre-irradiation has not been confirmed. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13014-019-1241-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.