PET Scan Combined With CT Scan in Evaluating Treatment Response in Patients Undergoing Treatment for Bone Cancer or Soft Tissue Sarcoma

Glucose Metabolic Response by PET/CT to Sarcoma Treatments

RATIONALE: Diagnostic procedures, such as PET scan and CT scan, may help doctors determine the extent of cancer and predict a patient's response to treatment and help plan the best treatment.

PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying how well PET scan combined with CT scan evaluates treatment response in patients undergoing treatment for bone cancer or soft tissue sarcoma.

OBJECTIVES:

• Determine whether an FDA-approved device that combines fludeoxyglucose ^18F positron-emission tomography (FDG-PET) and CT scanning (FDG-PET/CT) can accurately locate and determine the extent of disease in patients who are undergoing treatment for bone or soft tissue sarcoma.
• Determine whether FDG-PET/CT scanning is effective in evaluating the response of sarcoma to treatment.
• Determine whether the new FDG-PET/CT device improves the ability to evaluate treatment response early and accurately.
• Correlate changes in glucose metabolic activity early and late after treatment with overall and progression-free survival.
• Correlate changes in glucose metabolic activity early and late after treatment with degree of tumor necrosis at the time of surgery.

OUTLINE: This is a prospective, pilot study. Patients are stratified according to disease (high-grade soft tissue sarcoma vs low-grade soft tissue sarcoma vs osteosarcoma).

Patients undergo fludeoxyglucose ^18F positron-emission tomography (FDG-PET)/CT scanning at baseline and then within 2 weeks and 12 weeks after the start of treatment (total of 3 scans).

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 120 patients will be accrued for this study.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Histologically or cytologically confirmed bone or soft tissue sarcoma
• Scheduled to undergo treatment (i.e., chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy) for sarcoma
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• Not claustrophobic
• Able to lie supine for 1 hour
• Patients with diabetes mellitus allowed provided serum glucose levels ≤ 200 mg/dL

Exclusion Criteria:

• pregnant
• other malignancies within the past 5 years (except completely resected cervical or nonmelanoma skin cancer) unless the malignancy was curatively treated and is at low risk for recurrence