Complete pathological response (pCR) in gastroesophageal cancer: Correlation with metabolic response

摘要

Purpose. - Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) followed by surgery in patients with resectable esophageal or esophagogastric junctional (GEJ) (Siewert I) cancer is associated with long term overall survival benefits. Up to one third of all patients submitted to nCRT present pathological complete response (pCR). F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography with CT (F-18-FDG PET-CT) is an important tool for assessing treatment response. Purpose was to assess retrospectively the power of F-18-FDG PET-CT in predicting pCR to evaluate the feasibility of a "watch and wait" approach.