title: Role of [F-18] 2-Deoxy-2-Fluoro-d-Glucose PET and PET/CT in Staging and Follow-Up of Breast Cancer.
abstract: The precise role of PET/CT (computed tomography) continues to evolve, although 20 years have passed since the first study using (18)F 2-Deoxy-2-Fluoro-d-Glucose (FDG)-PET for the assessment of breast cancers. The current whole body PET/CT devices have not achieved adequate accuracy to replace conventional imaging methods and histopathology. Despite the fact that high positive predictive value of FDG-PET and PET/CT in diagnosis of axillary lymph node involvement can avoid sentinel node biopsy in a fraction of metastatic patients, FDG-PET has been shown to be of limited value in staging of axillary lymph node involvement. The current literature demonstrates that FDG-PET and PET/CT are considerably superior compared with conventional methods for the assessment of extra-axillary regional lymph node metastases such as internal mammary and mediastinal lymph nodes. Also, FDG-PET or PET/CT is the preferred method to assess the extent of distant metastatic disease and to diagnose patients with suspicion of recurrent or metastatic disease. Technological developments in positron emission mammography, PET/CT, and PET/MRI have great potential for better diagnosis, staging, and re-staging in patients with breast cancer in the near future.
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Nuclear Medicine, Istanbul Education and Research Hospital, Samatya, Fatih, Istanbul 34310, Turkey.
authors.forename: Tevfik Fikret
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Çermik
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Yeditepe University Hospital, Devlet Yolu Ankara Caddesi No: 102/104, Kozyatagi, Istanbul 34752, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ayşe
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mavi
authors.affiliation: Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Radiology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street, 110 Donner Building, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Abass
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alavi