PET/MRI, CT can predict treatment response in pancreatic cancer: Study

Rochester, MN: Post neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) changes in metabolic metrics tracked on PET/MRI and morphologic metrics from CT were associated with pathologic response and overall survival (OS) for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) patients, suggests a recent study.

According to the study, published in the American Journal of Roetgenology, imaging metrics associated with OS and pathologic response in PDA could help in guiding clinical management and outcomes for PDA patients receiving emergent therapeutic interventions.

There is a need for imaging biomarkers of response to NAT in PDA in order to optimize treatment decisions and long-term outcomes. Keeping this need in mind, Ananya Panda, the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, and colleagues investigated metrics from PET/MRI and CT for assessment of pathologic response of PDA to NAT and prediction of overall survival.

For the purpose, the researchers included 44 patients with 18F-FDG avid borderline resectable or locally advanced PDA on pre-treatment PET/MRI who also underwent post-NAT PET/MRI prior to surgery between 8/2016 and 9/2019. The researchers then compared CA 19-9, metabolic metrics from PET/MRI, and morphologic metrics from CT (n=34) between pathologic responders [College of American Pathologists scores 0 and 1] and nonresponders (scores 2 and 3).