Dr. Till Heusner, from the University of DĂĽsseldorf, and colleagues compared the diagnostic accuracy of whole-body FDG-PET/CT for initial breast cancer staging with the accuracy of a conventional, multimodality imaging algorithm. The team also sought to explore whether patient management would be changed due to the FDG-PET/CT findings.
The study included 106 breast cancer patients who had whole-body FDG-PET/CT and also conventional imaging (x-ray mammography, breast MRI, chest x-ray, bone scintigraphy, and breast, axillary, and liver ultrasound). Heusner's group evaluated diagnostic accuracy by primary tumor detection rate, correct assessment of primary lesion location, T stage, and the detection rates of lymph node and distant metastases.
FDG-PET/CT was more accurate for detecting axillary lymph node and distant metastases, the group found: In fact, in 14 patients, only FDG-PET/CT found synchronous tumors, extra-axillary lymph node metastases, or distant metastases. Fourteen percent of patients had their disease management plans changed because of FDG-PET/CT findings -- a substantial proportion, the researchers concluded.
