FDG-PET for evaluation of recurrent lymph node metastases in patients with surgically resected breast cancer: adding spot images to whole body images.
BACKGROUND
To evaluate the role of 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET), spot images were added to whole-body FDG-PET images in a patient with suspected lymph node recurrence of breast cancer.


METHODS
FDG-PET spot images were obtained of 44 patients who had undergone surgical resection of breast cancer as were whole-body FDG-PET images. A total of 33 lesions in 19 patients (mean age, 59 years; range, 39-70 years) were diagnosed as lymph node recurrence clinically, and standardized uptake values (SUVs) were calculated for whole body images and spot images. Lesions were also scored from 1 (not clear) to 3 (very clear) for both the whole body and spot images.


RESULTS
For mediastinal lymph node metastases, the SUVs of the spot images (SUVsp) (mean, 4.0; range, 2.1-6.6) were significantly higher than the SUVs of the whole body images (SUVwb) (mean, 3.3; range, 2.1-5.8). For other lymph node metastases (neck, axilla, etc.), there was no significant difference between SUVwb (2.6; 1.4-6.5) and SUVsp (2.8; 1.6-8.1).


CONCLUSIONS
By adding spot images, the evaluation of lymph node metastases became easier. Adding spot images to whole-body FDG-PET may be useful.
Tamaki
Tsuneo
T
Department of Radiology, Nagoya Kyoritsu Hospital, 1-172 Hokke, Nakagawa-ku, Nagoya 454-0933, Japan.
Naito
Akihiro
A
Nishio
Masami
M
Kawahara
Katsuhiko
K
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008408:Mastectomy; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000175:diagnosis*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed / Q000379:methods*
D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18