Background
The role of whole-body fluorine-18-FDG positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) as an adjunct localize recurrence in stages
II and III breast cancer patients who present with clinical suspicion for recurrence is not well established. We report our
experience in such a patient population.
Methods
A retrospective review of all patients with stages II and III breast cancer who had a whole-body FDG-PET scan was performed.
Results
Of the 23 patients who fit the criteria, 9 had stage II and 14 had stage III breast cancer. Overall sensitivity, specificity,
and accuracy were 81%, 100%, and 87%, respectively. Positive and negative predictive values for stages II and III were 100%
and 83%, respectively, and 100% and 50%, respectively. FDG-PET detected two recurrences that were missed by conventional imagings,
but such recurrences were local and amenable for biopsy.
Conclusions
In patients with stages II and III breast cancer who present with a suspicion for recurrent disease, a whole-body FDG-PET
scan may be a useful adjunct in the evaluation of recurrence. However, its added benefit over conventional imaging should
be questioned.
This paper was presented as a poster at the 2004 American Society of Clinical Oncology.