Reproducibility of baseline tumour metabolic volume measurements in diffuse large B-Cell lymphoma: Is there a superior method?

Abstract

The metabolic tumour volume (MTV) is an independent prognostic indicator in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). However, its measurement is not standardised and is subject to wide variations depending on the method used. This study aimed to compare the reproducibility of MTV measurement as well as the thresholds obtained for each method and their prognostic values. The baseline MTV was measured in 239 consecutive patients treated at Henri Becquerel Centre by two blinded evaluators. Eight methods were compared: 3 absolute (SUV (standardised uptake value)? 2.5; SUV? liver SUVmax; SUV? PERCIST SUV), 1 percentage SUV threshold method (SUV? 41% SUVmax) and 4 adaptive methods (Daisne, Nestle, Fitting, Black). The intraclass correlation coefficients were excellent, from 0.91 to 0.96, for the absolute SUV methods, Black and Nestle methods, and good for 41% SUVmax, Fitting and Daisne methods (0.82 to 0.88), with a significantly lower variability with absolute methods compared to 41% SUVmax (P