Role of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT for predicting bone marrow involvement, disease relapse and histopathological transformation in follicular lymphoma—a single centre observation

The objective of present study is to assess the role of the [¹⁸Fluorine] 2-Fluoro-2-Deoxy-D-Glucose Positron-Emission-Tomography Computed-Tomography (¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT) scan to detect the bone marrow involvement, predict disease free interval (DFI) and histopathological Transformation (HT) in Follicular Lymphoma (FL). Sixty patients were evaluated. Staging ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT scan showed poor sensitivity for bone marrow involvement. Thus, staging ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT cannot replace initial bone marrow biopsy in FL. Maximum standardized uptake value (SUV_max) of lymphomatous lesions in staging ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT scan has no correlation with DFI and HT. Treatment response based on 5-point Deauville Score (5PDS) of interim ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT scan is significantly associated with DFI. Interim ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT scan plays an important role in deciding treatment modification in FL to prevent future recurrence.