TY - JOUR
T1 - FDG-PET/CT compared with conventional imaging in the detection of distant metastases of primary breast cancer
AU - Niikura, Naoki
AU - Costelloe, Colleen M.
AU - Madewell, John E.
AU - Hayashi, Naoki
AU - Tse-Kuan, Yu
AU - Liu, Jun
AU - Palla, Shana L.
AU - Tokuda, Yutaka
AU - Theriault, Richard L.
AU - Hortobagyi, Gabriel N.
AU - Ueno, Naoto T.
PY - 2011/8
Y1 - 2011/8
N2 - Purpose. Evidence from studies with small numbers of patients indicates that 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) accurately detects distant metastases in the staging of primary breast cancer. We compared the sensitivity and specificity of PET/CT and conventional imaging (CT, ultrasonography, radiography, and skeletal scintigraphy) for the detection of distant metastases in patients with primary breast cancer. Patients and Methods. We performed a retrospective review that identified 225 patients with primary breast cancer seen from January 2000 to September 2009 for whom PET/CT data were available for review. Imaging findings were compared with findings on biopsy, subsequent imaging, or clinical follow-up. Sensitivity and specificity in the detection of distant metastases were calculated for PET/CT and conventional imaging. Fisher's exact tests were used to test the differences in sensitivity and specificity between PET/CT and conventional imaging. Results. The mean patient age at diagnosis was 53.4 years (range, 23-84 years). The sensitivity and specificity in the detection of distant metastases were 97.4% and 91.2%, respectively, for PET/CT and 85.9% and 67.3%, respectively, for conventional imaging. The sensitivity and specificity of PET/CT were significantly higher than those of conventional imaging (p=.009 and p <.001, respectively). Eleven cases of distant metastases detected by PET/CT were clinically occult and not evident on conventional imaging. Conclusion. PET/CT has higher sensitivity and specificity than conventional imaging in the detection of distant metastases of breast cancer. A prospective study is needed to determine whether PET/CT could replace conventional imaging to detect distant metastases in patients with primary breast cancer.
AB - Purpose. Evidence from studies with small numbers of patients indicates that 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) accurately detects distant metastases in the staging of primary breast cancer. We compared the sensitivity and specificity of PET/CT and conventional imaging (CT, ultrasonography, radiography, and skeletal scintigraphy) for the detection of distant metastases in patients with primary breast cancer. Patients and Methods. We performed a retrospective review that identified 225 patients with primary breast cancer seen from January 2000 to September 2009 for whom PET/CT data were available for review. Imaging findings were compared with findings on biopsy, subsequent imaging, or clinical follow-up. Sensitivity and specificity in the detection of distant metastases were calculated for PET/CT and conventional imaging. Fisher's exact tests were used to test the differences in sensitivity and specificity between PET/CT and conventional imaging. Results. The mean patient age at diagnosis was 53.4 years (range, 23-84 years). The sensitivity and specificity in the detection of distant metastases were 97.4% and 91.2%, respectively, for PET/CT and 85.9% and 67.3%, respectively, for conventional imaging. The sensitivity and specificity of PET/CT were significantly higher than those of conventional imaging (p=.009 and p <.001, respectively). Eleven cases of distant metastases detected by PET/CT were clinically occult and not evident on conventional imaging. Conclusion. PET/CT has higher sensitivity and specificity than conventional imaging in the detection of distant metastases of breast cancer. A prospective study is needed to determine whether PET/CT could replace conventional imaging to detect distant metastases in patients with primary breast cancer.
KW - Breast cancer
KW - Pet/ct
KW - Primary staging
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U2 - 10.1634/theoncologist.2011-0089
DO - 10.1634/theoncologist.2011-0089
M3 - Article
C2 - 21765193
AN - SCOPUS:80052209289
SN - 1083-7159
VL - 16
SP - 1111
EP - 1119
JO - Oncologist
JF - Oncologist
IS - 8
ER -