Pre-treatment 18F-FDG-PET/CT parameters as biomarkers for progression free survival, best overall response and overall survival in metastatic melanoma patients undergoing first-line immunotherapy

Background Checkpoint inhibitors have drastically improved the therapy of patients with advanced melanoma. 18F-FDG-PET/CT parameters might act as biomarkers for response and survival and thus can identify patients that do not benefit from immunotherapy. However, little literature exists on the association of baseline 18F-FDG-PET/CT parameters with progression free survival (PFS), best overall response (BOR), and overall survival (OS). Materials and methods Using a whole tumor volume segmentation approach, we investigated in a retrospective registry study (n = 50) whether pre-treatment 18F-FDG-PET/CT parameters of three subgroups (tumor burden, tumor glucose uptake and non-tumoral hematopoietic tissue metabolism), can act as biomarkers for the primary endpoints PFS and BOR as well as for the secondary endpoint OS. Results Compared to the sole use of clinical parameters, baseline 18F-FDG-PET/CT parameters did not significantly improve a Cox proportional-hazard model for PFS (C-index/AIC: 0.70/ 225.17 and 0.68/223.54, respectively; p = 0.14). A binomial logistic regression analysis for BOR was not statistically significant (χ²(15) = 16.44, p = 0.35), with a low amount of explained variance (Nagelkerke’s R² = 0.38). Mean FDG uptake of the spleen contributed significantly to a Cox proportional-hazard model for OS (HR 3.55, p = 0.04). Conclusions The present study could not confirm the capability of the pre-treatment 18F-FDG-PET/CT parameters tumor burden, tumor glucose uptake and non-tumoral hematopoietic tissue metabolism to act as biomarkers for PFS and BOR in metastatic melanoma patients receiving first-line immunotherapy. The documented potential of 18F-FDG uptake by immune-mediating tissues such as the spleen to act as a biomarker for OS has been reproduced.