AB002. Relationship between mitochondrial DNA copy number and maximum standard uptake value of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography scan in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Basic Research

AB002. Relationship between mitochondrial DNA copy number and maximum standard uptake value of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography scan in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Chen-Sung Lin1,2,3,4, Yu-Yi Huang1,5, Siao-Cian Pan6, Chia-Chuan Liu1,4, Chih-Hsun Shih1,4, Hsiang-Ling Ho7, Yi-Chen Yeh1,2,7, Teh-Ying Chou2,7, Ming-Yuan Lee1,8, Yau-Huei Wei1,2,6

1Faculty of Medicine, 2Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei;3Division of Thoracic Surgery, Feng-Yuan Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taichung;4Division of Thoracic Surgery, 5Department of Nuclear Medicine, Koo-Foundation Sun Yat-sen Cancer Center, Taipei, Taiwan;6Center for Mitochondrial Medicine and Free Radical Research, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan;7Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan;8Department of Pathology, Koo-Foundation Sun Yat-sen Cancer Center, Taipei, Taiwan


Background: We appraised the relationship between mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number and maximum standard uptake value (SUVmax) of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) scan in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

Methods: Forty-five ESCC patients undergoing esophagectomy in Koo-Foundation Sun Yat-sen Cancer Center were retrospectively collected. Their non-cancerous esophageal mucosa (EM) and corresponding cancerous ESCC nest were laser micro-dissected for DNA extraction. The mtDNA copy numbers of EM (mtDNAEM) and ESCC (mtDNAESCC) were analyzed by Q-PCR. The mtDNA copy ratio was defined as mtDNAESCC copy number divided by mtDNAEM copy number. Twenty-seven of the 45 ESCC patients received pre-operative FDG-PET scan, and their SUVmax of the non-cancerous esophageal background (BG, SUVmax-BG) and the corresponding cancerous ESCC nest (SUVmax-ESCC) were recorded. The SUVmax ratio was defined as SUVmax-ESCC divided by SUVmax-BG.

Results: Resection margin invasion (P<0.001), advanced T-status (T1/T2/T3/T4, P=0.035), and advanced N-status (N0/N1/N2/N3, P=0.032) were poor prognostic variables. Invasive ESCC (T2/T3/T4 vs. T1) tended to have lower mtDNAESCC copy number (P=0.001) and mtDNA copy ratio (P=0.012), but had higher SUVmax-ESCC (P<0.001) and SUVmax ratio (P=0.001). Longer ESCC tumor lengths were associated with lower mtDNAESCC copy number [correlation coefficient (CC) =−0.295, P=0.049] and mtDNA copy ratio (CC =−0.343, P=0.021), but higher SUVmax-ESCC (CC =0.513, P=0.006) and SUVmax ratio (CC =0.575, P=0.002). Furthermore, lower mtDNAESCC copy number and mtDNA copy ratio were associated with higher SUVmax-ESCC (CC =−0.448, P=0.019) and SUVmax ratio (CC =−0.563, P=0.002), respectively.

Conclusions: Decrease in the copy number and copy ratio of mtDNA with increased SUVmax-ESCC and SUVmax ratio in ESCC suggests a shift of glucose metabolism in ESCC.

Keywords: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA); positron emission tomography scan; glucose metabolic shift; esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC)


doi: 10.21037/jtd.2017.s002


Cite this article as: Lin CS, Huang YY, Pan SC, Liu CC, Shih CH, Ho HL, Yeh YC, Chou TY, Lee MY, Wei YH. Relationship between mitochondrial DNA copy number and maximum standard uptake value of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography scan in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. J Thorac Dis 2017;9(Suppl 14):AB002. doi: 10.21037/jtd.2017.s002

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