Role of Fluorine-18 Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography in evaluation of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients

Abstract

Background: People of various races, ages, financial backgrounds, and geographic areas are typically affected by breast cancer, which is the most common malignant disease in women. After a diagnosis of breast cancer, a precise assessment of tumor staging is necessary to establish the course of treatment and prognosis. Aim: To investigate the role of Fluorine-18 Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) in staging, pre-therapeutic metastatic workup or preoperative evaluation of newly diagnosed patients with breast cancer which subsequently affects their management. Patients and methods: This prospective study included 30 female patients who were recently diagnosed as breast cancer and were referred for initial 18F-FDG PET/CT scans for preoperative or pre-therapeutic staging. All patients underwent both CT and PET examinations for initial staging of breast cancer. The reference standard was histopathology and 6-12 months follow-up. Results: PET/CT revealed higher sensitivity (92%) and specificity (80%) in diagnosis of nodal metastasis compared to conventional CT with lower sensitivity (64%) and specificity (60%). Also, PET/CT had higher sensitivity (94.4%) and specificity (75%) in diagnosis of distant metastasis compared to conventional CT with lower sensitivity (88.9%) and specificity (66.7%). Conclusions:The quick, accurate, and noninvasive metastasis detection provided by (18F-FDG PET/CT) is valuable as it allows for the modification of the initial staging, which in turn affects the treatment regimens for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients.