Criteria Recommended for Evaluating Interim PET in Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Background: Although there does remain some disagreement about whether or not interim positron electron tomography (PET) should be routinely applied to patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma who are receiving chemotherapy, there is nevertheless good evidence that PET does provide reliable prognostic information in this setting. However, one of the questions that remains to be resolved is this: what are the best criteria for interpretation of interim PET/CT following 2 or 3 cycles of chemotherapy? Objective: To evaluate a semi-quantitative scale versus change in standardized uptake values (SUV) for interpretation of interim PET/CT exams in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Design: This was a multicenter retrospective study of records of 114 patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma undergoing frontline chemotherapy. Methods: Patients underwent PET/CT imaging at baseline prior to treatment and then again after 2 cycles of chemotherapy. PET images were evaluated using more...