Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography in Oesophageal Cancer Staging: A Tailored Approach

Positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) scanning is used routinely in the staging of oesophageal cancer to identify occult metastases not apparent on CT and changes the management in typically 3-18 % patients. The authors aim to re-evaluate its role in the management of oesophageal cancer, investigating whether it is possible to identify a group of patients that will not benefit and can safely be spared from this investigation. Consecutive patients with oesophageal cancer undergoing PET-CT staging between 2010 and 2013 were identified from a specialist modern multidisciplinary team database. Without knowledge of the PET-CT result, patients were stratified into low-risk or high-risk groups according to the likelihood of identifying metastatic disease on PET-CT based on specified criteria routinely available from endoscopy and CT reports. Clinical outcomes in the two groups were investigated. In 383 undergoing PET-CT, metastatic disease was identified in 52 (13.6 %) patients. Eighty-three patients were stratified as low risk and 300 as high risk. None of the low-risk patients went on to have metastatic disease identified on PET-CT. Of the high-risk patients, 17 % had metastatic disease identified on PET-CT. In one of the largest studies to date investigating the influence of staging PET-CT on management of patients with oesophageal cancer, the authors report a classification based on endoscopy/CT criteria is able to accurately stratify patients according to the risk of having metastatic disease. This could be used to avoid unnecessary PET-CT 22 % of patients, saving cost, inconvenience and reducing potential delay to definitive treatment in this group.