Prognostic value of maximum standard uptake value, metabolic tumour volume, and total lesion glycolysis of 18F-FDG PET/CT in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma: a systematic review and meta-analysis

PURPOSE: Present work systematically reviewed relevant literature based on 18F-FDG PET parameters and conducted a meta-analysis to examine the prognostic value of maximal standard uptake value (SUVmax), total lesional glycolysis (TLG), and metabolic tumour volume (MTV) in the prognosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). METHODS: The relevant literature published in English were searched on PubMed, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases. We also evaluated the significance of SUVmax, TLG, and MTV in prognosis prediction using pooled hazard ratios (HRs). RESULTS: The current study comprised 12 primary studies with a total of 1307 MPM cases. According to our results, the pooled HR (95% confidence interval [CI]) of increased SUVmax for overall survival (OS) was 1.30 (95% CI 1.13–1.49, P = 0.000), whereas the increased TLG was 1.81(95% CI 1.25–2.61, P = 0.089). The increased MTV was not significantly related to OS (1.14 [95% CI 0.87–1.50, P = 0.18]).However, study design-stratified subgroup analysis suggested that differences in OS of retrospective and prospective subgroups were statistically significant, and no significant heterogeneity among different studies was observed. CONCLUSION: Based on the findings from the present work, PET/CT can significantly affect the prognosis prediction in MPM cases. Also, the increased SUVmax and TLG values predict an increased risk of mortality. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12935-022-02482-5.