Value of SUV_max for the Prediction of Bone Invasion in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

In advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), accurate planning of surgical resection and reconstruction are crucial for outcome and postoperative function. For OSCC close to the maxilla or mandible, prediction of bone invasion is necessary. The aim of this study was to examine whether metabolic tumor imaging obtained by fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) could enhance preoperative predictability of bone invasion. We performed an analysis of 84 treatment-naïve OSCCs arising from gum (upper and lower), hard palate, floor of mouth, and retromolar trigone treated at the University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland, who underwent wide local excision with free flap reconstruction between 04/2010 and 09/2018 and with available preoperative FDG-PET. Prediction of bone invasion by metabolic tumor imaging such as maximum standardized uptake value (SUV_max) was examined. On definitive histopathology, bone invasion was present in 47 of 84 cases (56%). The probability of bone infiltration increased with a higher pretherapeutic SUV_max in an almost linear manner. A pretherapeutic SUV_max of primary tumor below 9.5 ruled out bone invasion preoperatively with a high specificity (97.6%). The risk of bone invasion was 53.6% and 71.4% for patients with SUV_max between 9.5–14.5 and above 14.5, respectively. Patients with bone invasion had worse distant metastasis-free survival compared to patients without bone invasion (log-rank test, p = 0.032). In conclusion, metabolic tumor imaging using FDG-PET could be used to rule out bone invasion in oral cancer patients and may serve in treatment planning.