18F-FDG PET in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma undergoing curative surgery: prognostic implications.

We investigated whether the standardized uptake value (SUV) of the primary tumor, the tumor length measured on a PET image, the number of (18)F-FDG PET-positive nodes, and the PET stage were independent prognostic predictors over other clinical variables in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who were undergoing curative surgery.Sixty-nine patients with newly diagnosed esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who underwent preoperative...