Association between serum NSE and metabolic parameters determined by 18F-FDG PET/CT in pediatric patients with neuroblastoma

Association between serum NSE and metabolic parameters determined by
18F-FDG PET/CT in pediatric patients with neuroblastoma

Abstract

Purpose: To explore the correlations between neuron‑specific enolase
(NSE) and the metabolic parameters such as the maximum uptake (SUVmax),
metabolic tumor volume (MTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG),
determined by fluorine‑18 fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission
tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) in pediatric patients with newly
diagnosed neuroblastoma(NB). Method: Data from 43 patients with newly
diagnosed NB between December 2013 and December 2019 were collected. The
serum levels of NSE were measured at the time of diagnosis, and 18F-FDG
PET/CT examinations were performed within 1 weeks. The metabolic
parameters of the primary tumor lesion s such as SUVmax, MTV and TLG
were calculated by 18F-FDG PET/CT. Pearson correlation analyses were
applied to investigate the correlations between the serum levels of NSE
and PET/CT findings. Result: NSE had strong correlations with SUVmax,
MTV and TLG (r=0.521, P<0.001; r=0.520, P<0.001;
r=0.442, P=0.003, respectively) using Pearson correlation analyses. The
Mann-Whitney U tests showed that the values of SUVmax, MTV and TLG were
significantly higher for the patients with NSE levels ≥100 ug/L
(P=0.013, P=0.013 and P=0.002, respectively) and for patients with serum
NSE levels larger than the cut-off value (P=0.004, P=0.008 and
P<0.001, respectively). Conclusion: In patients with newly
diagnosed NB, the metabolic parameters determined by 18F-FDG PET/CT
could be considered as accurate markers of tumor burden, with MTV and
TLG more sensitive than SUVmax. When abnormal NSE level were detected in
a pediatric patient with NB, the higher the NSE level was, the larger
the SUVmax MTV and TLG were.