Background and purpose: We investigated whether fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (

18

F-FDG) maximal standard uptake value (SUV

max

) of the primary tumor (SUV-T)

SUV

max

of the regional lymph nodes (SUV-N) or the overall loco-regional lesion SUV

max

(SUV-TOTAL) was related to survi

val of patients with stage Ⅲ nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received Cetuximab and combined definitive chemoradiotherpay. Methods: From September 2009 to July 2012

seventeen patients with unresectable stage Ⅲ NSCLC receiving cetuximab with cisplatin/vinorelbine (NP) followed by concomitant NP and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) at the Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center were enrolled onto a prospectively study. All patients received positron emission tomography/computerized tomography (PET/CT) scans within 2 weeks before enrolment. Univariate analysis were used to assess the correlation between SUV-T

SUV-N

SUV-TOTAL

gender

age

histology

tumour-node-metastasis (TNM) stage

performance status (PS) as well as smoking status and survival. The factors which showed statistical significance entered into multivariate Cox-regression model. Survival functions of different populations were estimated by Kaplan-Meier method and compared by Log-rank test. Results: In the univariate analysis

SUV-T

SUV-N

SUVTOTAL

PS and smoking status were prognostic factors. The best cut-off values for SUV-T

SUV-N and SUV-TOTAL were 11

11 and 20

respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that SUV-TOTAL (P=0.012)

SUV-T (P=0.025)

and SUV-N (P=0.033) were independent predictors of survival with hazard ratio (HR) of 14.7

11.2

and 6.2

respectively. Conclusion: Local

regional and locoregional maximal SUVs defined by 18F-FDG PET-CT scanning may have a strong correlation with survival in this patients setting

which merits further study.