title: Determination of indication for sentinel lymph node biopsy in clinical node-negative breast cancer using preoperative 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography fusion imaging.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Sentinel node biopsy (SNB) is indicated for axillary lymph node metastasis-negative cases (N0), but clarification of the indication may increase treatment efficiency. Fluorine-18-labeled 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) may have a high positive predictive value in diagnosis of axillary lymph node metastasis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety-two breasts/axillae were analyzed retrospectively in 90 patients (median age 54.6-year old, median primary tumor 1.7 cm). FDG-PET/computed tomography was used to indicate SNB in N0 cases. Axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) was performed in cases that were axillary lymph node metastasis-positive (PET N+) on FDG-PET/CT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy-four (80.4%) and 18 (19.6%) of the 92 axillae were diagnosed as metastasis-negative (PET N0) and PET N+, respectively, by FDG-PET/CT. SNB was performed in 51 of the 74 PET N0 axillae. ALND was performed in 23 PET N0 axillae (at the patients' request) and in all 18 PET N+ axillae. Of the 74 PET N0 axillae, 14 were metastasis-positive (pN+) and 60 were pN0 pathologically, and of the 18 PET N+ axillae, 13 were pN+ and five were pN0. The sensitivity and specificity of FDG-PET/CT for diagnosis of axillary metastasis were 48.1 and 92.3%, respectively, and the positive and negative predictive values were 72.2 and 81.1%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The positive detection rate on FDG-PET/CT was insufficient for determining an indication of SNB. However, use of an appropriate cut-off for SUV(max) (the positive rate was 90.9% with a cut-off of 2.0) and exclusion of surgically biopsied cases may achieve a clinically applicable positive detection rate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan. ntaira@md.okayama-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Naruto
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Taira
authors.forename: Shozo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ohsumi
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Takabatake
authors.forename: Fumikata
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.forename: Seiki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takashima
authors.forename: Kenjiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aogi
authors.forename: Shigemitsu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takashima
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Shigenori
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sugata
authors.forename: Rieko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nishimura
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18