PET/CT with 18 F-choline or 18 F-FDG in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Submitted to 90 Y-TARE: A Real-World Study.

Our aim was to assess the role of positron emission computed tomography (PET/CT) with 18 F-choline ( 18 F-FCH) or 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose ( 18 F-FDG) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) submitted to 90 Y-radioembolization ( 90 Y-TARE). We retrospectively analyzed clinical records of 21 HCC patients submitted to PET/CT with 18 F-fluorocholine ( 18 F-FCH) or 18 F-fluodeoxyglucose ( 18 F-FDG) before and 8 weeks after 90 Y-TARE. On pre-treatment PET/CT, 13 subjects (61.9%) were 18 F-FCH-positive, while 8 (38.1%) resulted 18 F-FCH-negative and 18 F-FDG-positive. At 8-weeks post 90 Y-TARE PET/CT, 13 subjects showed partial metabolic response and 8 resulted non-responders, with a higher response rate among 18 F-FCH-positive with respect to 18 F-FDG-positive patients (i.e., 76.9% vs. 37.5%, p = 0.46). Post-treatment PET/CT influenced patients' clinical management in 10 cases (47.6%); in 8 subjects it provided indication for a second 90 Y-TARE targeting metabolically active HCC remnant, while in 2 patients it led to a PET-guided radiotherapy on metastatic nodes. By Kaplan-Meier analysis, patients' age (≤69 y) and post 90 Y-TARE PET/CT's impact on clinical management significantly correlated with overall survival (OS). In Cox multivariate analysis, PET/CT's impact on clinical management remained the only predictor of patients' OS ( p < 0.001). In our real-world study, PET/CT with 18 F-FCH or 18 F-FDG influenced clinical management and affected the final outcome for HCC patients treated with 90 Y-TARE.