Associations between FDG-PET and Ki 67-index in head and neck cancer: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: FDG-PET might be able to reflect histopathology features of tumors. Ki 67 in head and neck carcinomas (HNSCC). The present study sought to elucidate the association between Ki 67 index and SUV(max) based upon a large patient sample. METHODS: PubMed database was screened for studies analyzed the relationship between Ki 67 and SUV in HNSCC. Nine studies comprising 211 patients were suitable for analysis. RESULTS: SUV(max) increased with tumor grade and was statistically significant different between G1, G2, and G3 tumors. The ROC analysis for discrimination between G1/G2 and G3 tumors revealed an area under curve of 0.71. In the overall patient sample, SUV(max) correlated statistically significant with Ki 67 index (r = 0.154, P = .032). CONCLUSION: The present study identified a weak correlation between SUV values and proliferation index Ki 67 index in HNSCC in a large patient sample. Therefore, SUV(max) cannot be used as surrogate parameter for proliferation activity in HNSCC.