ReviewDeutsches Arzteblatt international2015
The role of PET and PET-CT scanning in assessing response to neoadjuvant therapy in esophageal carcinoma.
Review in Deutsches Arzteblatt international, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparative Analysis of F-18 FDG PET-Based Metabolic Parameters in the Differential Diagnosis of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Adenocarcinoma.World journal of nuclear medicine · 2026Article
- Estimation of esophageal involvement length in esophagogastric junction tumors using PET-CT.Esophagus : official journal of the Japan Esophageal Society · 2026Article
- Evaluation of prognostic risk factors of triple-negative breast cancer withFrontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2024Article
- Article
- 18F-FDG PET/CT as predictive and prognostic factor in esophageal cancer treated with combined modality treatment.Annals of nuclear medicine · 2022Article
- Staging and Response Evaluation to Neo-Adjuvant Chemoradiation in Esophageal Cancers Using 18FDG PET/ CT with Standardized Protocol.Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe response to neoadjuvant (radio-)chemotherapy for esophageal carcinoma is often assessed with the aid of positron-emission tomography (PET), either alone or in combination with computed tomography (PET-CT). In this review, we discuss the diagnostic validity and clinical benefit of these imaging techniques.
methodsWe systematically searched the Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and controlled clinical trials (CCTs) comparing PET-CT with conventional techniques such as endosonography and CT. We then determined the diagnostic validity of these methods on the basis of information from published systematic reviews, updated with further information from more recent primary studies.
resultsWe did not find any RCTs that addressed the question of the patient-relevant benefit of PET-CT. We found 20 studies of diagnostic methods, carried out on a total of 854 patients, of whom 82.2% were male. These studies had a high potential for bias. In two of them, PET-CT was directly compared with endosonography or CT. Estimates of sensitivity and specificity varied widely across studies. 54% of all patients (median value across studies) had no histopathological response to therapy at the end of treatment. Taking a reduction of the standard uptake value (SUV) by at least 35% as a threshold criterion, we found that the median negative predictive value of PET across all studies was 86.5.
conclusionThere is no robust evidence for a patient-relevant benefit of PET and PET-CT in patients with esophageal carcinoma. PET could potentially be used to distinguish treatment responders from non-responders after the first cycle of treatment. RCTs with patient-relevant endpoints will be needed in order to determine whether this is useful.
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