title: [Contribution of positron emission tomography to the detection and staging of breast cancer].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) is a diagnostic imaging tool with multiple applications in oncology. One of the more promising applications in breast cancer is noninvasive lymph node staging and detection of distant metastases, which may provide useful information about prognosis and treatment response.
  
  
  METHODS
  Published studies on FDG-PET applications in breast cancer detection and staging were reviewed. We also present our own experience in patients referred for preoperative staging of breast cancer.
  
  
  RESULTS
  FDG-PET is very useful in evaluating dense breasts, multicentric disease and breast prostheses. The sensitivity of FDG-PET for nodal staging is low, and consequently it cannot replace either sentinel lymph node biopsy or histologic examination. However, it is more accurate than another noninvasive techniques and is very useful in internal mammary node chain evaluation. FDG-PET can improve and maybe replace conventional imaging in detecting metastatic disease, especially in high risk patients with locoregionally advanced recurrent breast cancer or increased serum tumor markers, and helps to characterize unclear findings of anatomic imaging techniques or scintigraphy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FDG-PET is useful in breast cancer staging. It complements and even improves information from other diagnostic techniques and changes therapeutic management in a high proportion of patients.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Nuclear, Hospital Universitario Infanta Cristina, Badajoz, Spain. mluzovi@yahoo.es
authors.forename: M Luz
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Domínguez
authors.forename: Juan Pablo
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Suárez
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maldonado
authors.forename: Lucía
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: García-Bernardo
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: García-Rico
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cornide
authors.forename: Pedro Mateo
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: de las Heras
authors.forename: José Antonio
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Serna
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ortega
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18