Skip to main content
AAO-HNSF 2024 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.

Scientific Oral Presentations

Comprehensive Otolaryngology

Session: Scientific Oral Presentations 2 - Comprehensive Otolaryngology

Impact of Workup of 18-FDG Avid Thoracic Lesions in Newly Diagnosed Head and Neck Cancer

Sunday, September 29, 2024
1:24 PM – 1:30 PM EDT
Location: MBCC, 206
Disclosure(s):
Maiah Ann Wiley, BS:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Sandeep Yerraguntla, BS:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Sneha Chauhan, BS:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Michael W. Groves, MD:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

James K. Byrd, MD:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Introduction: Prior literature has demonstrated that workup of 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography-avid (18FDG-PET/CT) thoracic lesions in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) leads to significant delay in initiation of definitive therapy. In this study, we evaluate the survival impact of treatment delays for the workup of 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography-avid (18FDG-PET/CT) thoracic lesions in newly diagnosed HNSCC patients.

Methods: Charts of patients who presented to the Augusta University Tumor Board (AUTB) between 2013-2019 were reviewed. Adult patients over 18 years old who presented with newly diagnosed HNSCC and had a PET/CT available for review at the time of AUTB presentation were included. Patients with incomplete records, history of prior HNSCC, or no available PET/CT were excluded. Clinicopathologic features between patients who had no metastatic workup and those who did were compared via univariate analyses. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method.

Results: A total of 192 were included in the study. Of these, 13 patients (6.8%) presented with radiographically suspicious thoracic lesions, 42 (21.9%) had radiographically equivocal lesions, and 137 (71.4%) had no lesions. Pretreatment workup was underwent by 17 patients (8.9%). Pretreatment workup of thoracic lesions resulted in significant delay in treatment initiation (41.6 + 42.6 days) compared to those who did not undergo workup (27.7 + 21.8 days, p < 0.05). Three-year OS between the workup and no workup group was 35.3% versus 50.9% (p < 0.001), and DFS was 23.5% versus 44.0% (p = 0.005), respectively.

Conclusions: Decision to pursue pretreatment workup of 18FDG-avid thoracic lesions in newly diagnosed HNSCC must be weighed carefully with the risk of treatment delay, associated procedural risks, and patient specific factors. Delaying treatment initiation for pursuit of these lesions can result in significant treatment delay and worse survival outcomes.

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Maiah Ann Wiley, BS

    Medical Student
    Medical College of Georgia
    Forsyth, Georgia, United States

    Disclosure(s):

    faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

    • Co-Author(s)

  • Sandeep Yerraguntla, BS

    Medical Student
    Medical College of Georgia
    Johns Creek, Georgia, United States

    Disclosure(s):

    faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

  • SC

    Sneha Chauhan, BS

    Medical Student
    Medical College of Georgia
    Suwanee, Georgia, United States

    Disclosure(s):

    faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

  • FW

    Forest Weir, MD

    Medical College of Georgia, United States

    Disclosure information not submitted.

  • MG

    Michael W. Groves, MD

    Associate Professor; Associate Dean of Graduate Medical Education
    Medical College of Georgia Augusta
    Augusta, GA, United States

    Disclosure(s):

    faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

  • JB

    James K. Byrd, MD

    Professor
    Augusta University Medical Center - Department of Otolaryngology
    Augusta, GA, United States

    Disclosure(s):

    faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

    • Senior Author(s)

  • DS

    Daniel D. Sharbel, MD

    Assistant Professor
    Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University
    Augusta, GA, United States

    Disclosure information not submitted.