Purpose
The goal of the study was to assess the prognostic and predictive values of 18F-FDG PET/CT and CT in patients with breast invasive ductal cancer,
already treated with surgery and/or chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy
Methods and Materials
We enrolled 157 females (mean age 62±11 years) with a previous history of breast invasive ductal cancer after primary treatment.
They underwent within three months both CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT examinations for the evaluation of disease status.
The median interval time between the last treatment (surgery and chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy) and imaging exams was 55±5 months.
Follow-up data were obtained with clinical evaluation and/or radiological findings.
Results
The follow-up was 100% complete in a period of 13±9 months.
Of the overall patients,
51 (33%) had evidence of clinical and/or radiological relapse of disease,
while 106 (67%) did not (Figure 1).
The negative predictive value (NPV) and the positive predictive value (PPV) for disease relapse or progression were of 83% vs.
77% and 44% vs.
38%,
respectively for PET/CT and CT.
The relapse-free survival (Kaplan–Meier method) in patients with negative PET/CT was significant different from patients with positive PET/CT (78% vs.
20%; log-rank...
Conclusion
PET/CT imaging could be considered a valid tool for the prognostic evaluation in patients with breast cancer after primary treatment during a long-period follow-up.
For the identification of disease relapse,
FDG PET/CT has demonstrated,
high NPV but low PPV,
although superior to CT.
References
Piperkova E,
Raphael B,
Altinyay ME,
Castellon I,
Libes R,
Sandella N,
Heiba S,
Abdel-Dayem H.
Impact of PET/CT in comparison with same day contrast enhanced CT in breast cancer management.
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Vranjesevic D,
Filmont JE,
Meta J,
Silverman DH,
Phelps ME,
Rao J,
Valk PE,
Czernin J.
Whole-Body 18F-FDG PET and Conventional Imaging for Predicting Outcome in Previously Treated Breast Cancer Patients.
J Nucl Med 2002; 43:325–329
Demicheli R,
Biganzoli E,
Boracchi P,
Greco M,
Retsky MW.
Recurrence dynamics does not...
Personal Information
Laura Evangelista,
anuclear medicine physician,
is ayoung researcher,
expert in molecular imaging.
She is attending doctorate in reasearch at University of Naples "Federico II" of Naples.
Moreover,
she is working for Istituto Oncologico Veneto di Padova,
Italy,
and the main field where she is involved is breast cancer imaging.
