BACKGROUND: Proper preoperative staging is vital in the treatment of breast cancer patients. The aim of our study was to assess the value of the diagnostic information provided by PET/CT in surgical practice in breast cancer cases considered early-stage by conventional diagnostic modalities. METHODS: Whole-body 18-FDG PET/CT was performed on 115 breast cancer patients in whom traditional diagnostic modalities showed no signs of distant metastases or extensive axillary and/or extra-axillary lymphatic spreading, and the size of the primary tumor was <4 cm. RESULTS: The sensitivity of PET/CT in the detection of the primary tumor was 93%. The sensitivity of the traditional diagnostic modalities in the detection of multifocality was 43.8% while that of PET/CT was 100% (p < 0.001). In the assessment of axillary lymph nodes, ultrasound had a sensitivity of 30% and a specificity of 95%. The corresponding estimates for PET/CT were 72% and 96%, respectively. PET/CT detected distant metastases in 8 patients. TNM classification was modified after PET/CT scanning in 54 patients (47%). PET/CT data changed the treatment plan established upon the results of traditional imaging modalities in 18 patients (15.6%). CONCLUSIONS: PET/CT is able to assess primary tumor size and axillary lymphatic status more accurately than traditional diagnostic methods. It can detect distant metastases in 7-8% of those patients who were declared free of metastasis by clinical investigations. PET/CT scan modifies the disease stage determined by traditional diagnostic modalities in almost half of the patients and leads to a change in the treatment plan in every 6th patient.
BACKGROUND: Proper preoperative staging is vital in the treatment of breast cancerpatients. The aim of our study was to assess the value of the diagnostic information provided by PET/CT in surgical practice in breast cancer cases considered early-stage by conventional diagnostic modalities. METHODS: Whole-body 18-FDG PET/CT was performed on 115 breast cancerpatients in whom traditional diagnostic modalities showed no signs of distant metastases or extensive axillary and/or extra-axillary lymphatic spreading, and the size of the primary tumor was <4 cm. RESULTS: The sensitivity of PET/CT in the detection of the primary tumor was 93%. The sensitivity of the traditional diagnostic modalities in the detection of multifocality was 43.8% while that of PET/CT was 100% (p < 0.001). In the assessment of axillary lymph nodes, ultrasound had a sensitivity of 30% and a specificity of 95%. The corresponding estimates for PET/CT were 72% and 96%, respectively. PET/CT detected distant metastases in 8 patients. TNM classification was modified after PET/CT scanning in 54 patients (47%). PET/CT data changed the treatment plan established upon the results of traditional imaging modalities in 18 patients (15.6%). CONCLUSIONS: PET/CT is able to assess primary tumor size and axillary lymphatic status more accurately than traditional diagnostic methods. It can detect distant metastases in 7-8% of those patients who were declared free of metastasis by clinical investigations. PET/CT scan modifies the disease stage determined by traditional diagnostic modalities in almost half of the patients and leads to a change in the treatment plan in every 6th patient.
Authors: J Krammer; A Schnitzer; C G Kaiser; K A Buesing; E Sperk; J Brade; S Wasgindt; M Suetterlin; S O Schoenberg; E J Sutton; K Wasser Journal: Eur Radiol Date: 2015-02-15 Impact factor: 5.315
Authors: Julian Kirchner; Johannes Grueneisen; Ole Martin; Mark Oehmigen; Harald H Quick; Ann-Kathrin Bittner; Oliver Hoffmann; Marc Ingenwerth; Onofrio Antonio Catalano; Philipp Heusch; Christian Buchbender; Michael Forsting; Gerald Antoch; Ken Herrmann; Lale Umutlu Journal: Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging Date: 2018-07-28 Impact factor: 9.236
Authors: Sunitha V Bachawal; Kristin C Jensen; Amelie M Lutz; Sanjiv S Gambhir; Francois Tranquart; Lu Tian; Jürgen K Willmann Journal: Cancer Res Date: 2013-01-17 Impact factor: 12.701
Authors: Sarah E Shelton; Brooks D Lindsey; James K Tsuruta; F Stuart Foster; Paul A Dayton Journal: Ultrasound Med Biol Date: 2015-12-08 Impact factor: 2.998