Abstract
2980
Introduction: Background: Breast cancer is the most frequent malignant disease among women. The prognosis depends on a number of tumour characteristics, including tumour size, spread to regional lymph nodes and distant metastases. Early diagnosis improves survival of patients with breast cancer. During the follow-up, recurrent and metastatic disease appears in about 30% of breast cancer patients.
Aim: To assess the role of FDG-18 PET/CT in detection of recurrent and metastatic disease in breast cancer.
Methods: Our retrospective study included 50 asymptomatic breast cancer patients during the follow-up period from 2017-2018. All patients were suspicious of having recurrent and/or metastatic breast cancer according to the results of standard radiology techniques; echo mammography, digital mammography, CT imaging and/or MR mammography, and/or tumor markers, CA 15,3 and/or CEA. A core biopsy of suspicious lesions was done and histological diagnosis was used for definitive diagnosis.
Results: Histologically, there were 34 (68%) ductal; 7 (14%) lobular, mixed, ductal/lobular 7 (14%), mixed, tubular/lobular 1 (2%), and ductal clear cell 1 (2%) carcinomas. F-18 FDG-PET/CT detected recurrent and metastatic disease in 88% of breast cancer patients: bones 11; lungs 1; liver 3; breast (locoregional disease) 3; lymph nodes 10; combined organ involvement 16 patients. FDG-18 PET/CT showed high diagnostic value in detection of recurrent and metastatic disease: the overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy were 95.7%, 75%, 97.8%, 60%, and 94%, respectively. Correlation between FDG-18 PET/CT positive findings and increased tumor markers was not significant. Positive correlation between FDG-18 PET/CT positive findings and increased CA 15-3 values was found in 43.18% patients, and in 5.88% of patients with increased CEA values.
Conclusions: FDG-18 PET/CT imaging has important role in the monitoring of patients with breast cancer. It shows high diagnostic value in detection of metastatic or recurrent disease in patients with beast cancer. Correlation between positive FDG-18 PET/CT and increased tumor markers is not significant.