Metabolic Imaging Predicts Response, Survival, and Recurrence in Adenocarcinomas of the Esophagogastric Junction

Abstract

This study prospectively demonstrates that changes in tumor metabolic activity during chemotherapy predict response, prognosis, and recurrence. These data provide the basis for clinical trials in which preoperative treatment is changed for patients without a metabolic response early in the course of therapy. PET-guided induction therapy may even be applicable to earlier tumor stages because surgery is only minimally delayed in nonresponding patients.