This study prospectively investigates pretherapeutic markers of systemic inflammatory response (including neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio, systemic inflammation response index, and systemic immune-inflammation) and FDG-PET/CT-derived metabolic parameters of tumor and nodal metastases (including maximum standardized uptake value, metabolic tumor volume, and total lesion glycolysis) and their potential prognostic value in head and neck cancer patients prior to primary radiochemotherapy.
The aim of the study is to prospectively evaluate whether markers of a patient's systemic inflammatory response in addition to FDG-PET/CT metabolic parameters of the primary tumor or of nodal metastases can predict radioresistance and survival before primary radiochemotherapy in advanced head and neck cancer patients.