Dynamic FDG-PET/CT in the Initial Staging of Primary Breast Cancer

Our aim was to evaluate correlation between clinicopathological features (clinical T and clinical N stages; histological type; nuclear grade; hormone-receptor and HER2 status, proliferation activity and tumor subtypes) of breast cancer and kinetic parameters measured by staging dynamic FDG-PET/CT examinations. Following ethical approval and patients' informed consent we included 34 patients with 35 primary breast cancers in our prospective study. We performed dynamic PET imaging, and assessed plasma activity noninvasively. To delineate primary tumors we applied a frame-by-frame semi-automatic software-based correction of motion artefacts. FDG two-compartment kinetic modelling was applied to assess K1, k2, k3 rate coefficients and to calculate Ki (tracer flux constant) and MRFDG (FDG metabolic rate). We found that k3, Ki and MRFDG were significantly higher in higher grade (p = 0.0246, 0.0089 and 0.0076, respectively), progesterone-receptor negative (p = 0.0344, 0.0217 and 0.0132) and highly-proliferating (p = 0.0414, 0.0193 and 0.0271) tumors as well as in triple-negative and hormone-receptor negative/HER2-positive subtypes (p = 0.0310, 0.0280 and 0.0186). Ki and MRFDG were significantly higher in estrogen-receptor negative tumors (p = 0.0300 and 0.0247, respectively). Ki was significantly higher in node-positive than in node-negative disease (p = 0.0315). None of the assessed FDG-kinetic parameters showed significant correlation with stromal TIL. In conclusion, we confirmed a significant relationship between kinetic parameters measured by dynamic PET and the routinely assessed clinicopathological factors of breast cancer: high-grade, hormone-receptor negative tumors with high proliferation rate are characterized by higher cellular FDG-uptake and FDG-phosphorylation rate. Furthermore, we found that kinetic parameters based on the dynamic examinations are probably not influenced by stromal TIL infiltration

Response evaluation after primary systemic therapy of Her2 positive breast cancer – an observational cross-sectional study

Aim To evaluate (I) trastuzumab-containing primary systemic therapy (PST) in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her2) overexpressing breast carcinomas.; (II) compare the pa - tients who achieved and those who did not achieve pathologi - cal complete remission (pCR), and (III) analyze the accuracy of different clinical-imaging modalities in tumor response moni - toring. Methods 188 patients who received PST between 2008 and 2014 were reviewed and 43 Her2 overexpressing breast can - cer patients (28 Luminal B/Her2-positive and 15 Her2-positive) were enrolled. 26 patients received mostly taxane-based PST without trastuzumab (Group 1) and 17 patients received tras - tuzumab-containing PST (Group 2). We compared the con - cordance between pCR and complete remission (CR) defined by breast-ultrasound, CR defined by standard 18F-fluoro-de - oxy-glucose positron emission tomography and computer - ized tomography (FDG-PET/CT) criteria (Method 1) and CR defined by a novel, breast cancer specific FDG-PET/CT criteria (Method 2). Sensitivity (sens), specificity (spec), and positive (PPV ) and negative predictive values (NPV ) were calculated. Results Ten patients (38.5%) in Group 1 and eight (47%) in Group 2 achieved pCR. pCR was significantly more frequent in Her2-positive than in Luminal B/Her2-positive tumors in both Group 1: ( P = 0.043) and Group 2: ( P = 0.029). PET/CT evaluated by the breast cancer specific criteria (Method 2) differentiated pCR from non-pCR more accurately in both groups (Group 1: sens = 77.8%, spec = 100%, PPV = 100%, NPV = 71.4%; Group 2: sens = 87.5%, spec = 62.5%, PPV = 70%, NPV = 83.3%) than standard PET/CT criteria (Method 1) (Group 1: sens = 22.2% spec = 100% PPV = 100% NPV = 41.7%; in Group 2: sens = 37.5%, spec = 87.5%, PPV = 75% NPV = 58.3%) or breast ultrasound (Group 1, sens = 83.3% spec = 25% PPV = 62.5% NPV = 50%; Group 2, sens = 100% spec = 12.5% PPV = 41.6% NPV = 100%). Conclusion The benefit of targeted treatment with trastu - zumab-containing PST in Her2 overexpressing breast cancer was defined in terms of pCR rate. Luminal B/Her2-positive subtype needs further subdivision to identify patients who would benefit from PST. Combined evaluation of tumor re - sponse by our novel, breast cancer specific FDG-PET/CT crite - ria accurately differentiated pCR from non-pCR patients

PET-CT Imaging in Breast Cancer Patients: New Tracers, Future Directions

International audienc

Szükséges-e Hodgkin-limfóma primer stádium-megállapításához FDG-PET/CT mellett iv. ka. CT elvégzése is? | Is ceCT necessary beyond FDG-PET/CT for primary staging in Hodgkin lymphoma?

Bevezetés: Nemzetközi tanulmányok igazolták, hogy Hodgkin-lymphoma kezelés előtti stádiummeghatározásában a natív, alacsony dózisú komputertomográfiával (CT) végzett, 18-F-fluorodeoxiglükóz (FDG) alkalmazásával készült pozitronemissziós tomográfia/komputertomográfia (standard PET/CT) pontosabb, mint az intravénás kontrasztanyag adásával végzett, normáldózisú CT-vizsgálat (konvencionális CT). Célkitűzés: A szerzők összehasonlították saját beteganyagukban a fenti indikációban külön-külön a két vizsgálat pontosságát, valamint megvizsgálták, hogy szükséges-e a standard PET/CT mellett konvencionális CT-vizsgálat elvégzése is. Módszer: Huszonnyolc beteg stádiumbesorolását végezték el a konvencionális CT-vizsgálat, majd a standard PET/CT vizsgálat alapján, végül a két vizsgálatot együttesen értékelték. Eredmények: Mindhárom módszerrel azonos stádiumot találtak 24 betegben. Négy betegnél a standard PET/CT-vel magasabb stádiumot észleltek, mint a konvencionális CT-vel. A csak standard PET/CT-vel meghatározott stádiumon nem változtatott a vizsgálatok együttes értékelése. Következtetések: A Hodgkin-lymphoma kezelés előtti stádiummeghatározásában a standard PET/CT vizsgálat pontosabb, mint az önállóan végzett konvencionális CT-vizsgálat. Emellett megállapítható, hogy ebben az indikációban nem indokolható a standard PET/CT konvencionális CT-vel való kiegészítése. Orv. Hetil., 2014, 155(6), 226–230. | Introduction: Several study supported that 18F-Fluoro-deoxy-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computer tomography with low dose CT (standard PET/CT) is more accurate than contrast-enhanced CT (ceCT) in the primary staging of Hodgkin disease. Aim: The authors compared the accuracy of these examinations with this indication in their practice, and analysed the added value of ceCT which was performed as a supplement to standard PET/CT. Method: Twenty-eight patients were categorized based on ceCT, single standard PET/CT and standard PET/CT with ceCT. Results: Twenty-four patients were in the same disease-stage based on all methods. Disease was upstaged by standard PET/CT compared to ceCT in 4 patients. There was no change in stage when comparing standard PET/CT and standard PET/CT with ceCT. Conclusions: Standard PET/CT is more accurate than ceCT in the primary staging of Hodgkin disease. The authors established that it is not reasonable to supplement standard PET/CT with ceCT in this indication. Orv. Hetil., 2014, 155(6), 226–230

Correlation of the value of 18F-FDG uptake, described by SUVmax, SUVavg, metabolic tumour volume and total lesion glycolysis, to clinicopathological prognostic factors and biological subtypes in breast cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to observe the relationships between different metabolic parameters and clinicopathological features (CPFs) or immunohistochemically defined biological subtypes (IHC-BS) in breast cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty-two women (83 lesions, tumour size >15 mm) underwent PET/computed tomography imaging after a core biopsy. Maximum and average standardized uptake values (SUVmax, SUVavg), metabolic tumour volume (MTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) in the primary tumour were calculated and compared with CPFs and IHC-BS. Tumours with oestrogen receptor (ER) positivity were separately investigated in relation to their progesterone receptor (PR) status. RESULTS: Significant correlation was found between all metabolic parameters and high nuclear grade or ER status or IHC-BS. All parameters were higher in PR(-) and triple-negative cases than in PR(+) and non-triple-negative tumours, and the correlation was significant for most of the metabolic parameters (except for SUVavg in the case of PR status and MTV in the case of triple negativity). Significant correlation was found only for SUVmax regarding the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status. There was moderate correlation between the Ki67 expression and the SUVmax or SUVavg. All metabolic parameters were higher in ER(+)/PR(-)/HER2(-) lesions compared with ER(+)/PR(+)/HER2(-) cancers. However, ER(+)/PR(-)/HER2(+) tumours had lower SUVmax and SUVavg compared with ER(+)/PR(+)/HER2(+) lesions. CONCLUSION: Our study confirms that the fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in primary tumour is associated with distinct CPFs or IHC-BS in breast cancer. SUVmax may reflect tumour metabolism more reliably compared with SUVavg, MTV or total lesion glycolysis. Our preliminary results suggest different biological properties in ER(+) tumours with different PR statuses

Value of FDG-PET/CT Examinations in Different Cancers of Children, Focusing on Lymphomas

The aim of the study was to assess sensitivity and specificity of FDG-PET/CT in different forms of childhood cancer. We retrospectively evaluated the results dedicated of 162 FDG-PET/CT examinations of 86 children treated with: Hodgkin lymphoma (HL; n = 31), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL; n = 30) and other high grade solid tumors (n = 25). Patients were admitted and treated in two departments of pediatric hematology and oncology in Hungary. FDG-PET/CT was performed for staging (n = 25) and for posttreatment evaluation (n = 137). Imaging was performed in three FDG-PET/CT Laboratories, using dedicated PET/CT scanners. False positive results were defined as resolution or absence of disease progression over at least 1 year on FDG-PET/CT scans without any intervention. In some cases histopathological evaluation of suspicious lesions was performed. Fals negative results were defined as negative FDG-PET/CT results in case of active malignancy. Positive predictive values (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPV) were calculated. NPV was 100 %. The highest PPV was observed in high grade solid tumors (81 %), followed by HL (65 %) and NHL (61 %). There was a major difference of PPV in different histological types of HL (50 % in HL of mixed-cellularity subtype, 90 % in nodular sclerosing, and 100 % in lymphocyte-rich and lymphocyte depleted HL). We treated one patient with nodular lymphocyte predominant HL, who had 5 false positive FDG-PET/CT results. PPV of T- and B-lineage NHL were similar (60 % and 62 %, respectively). We observed an interesting difference of PPV in different stages of HL and NHL. In HL PPV was higher in early than in advanced disease forms: 66 % in stage II HL and 60 % in stage III HL, whereas there was an inverse relationship between PPV and disease stages in NHL 0 % in stage I and II patients, 67 % in stage III and 100 % in stage IV patients. PPV was lower in males (54 %) than in females (65 %). PPV were 64 % vs. 58 % in patients under vs. over 10 years of age. Negative FDG-PET/CT results during follow-up reliably predict the absence of malignancy. Positive FDG-PET/CT scan results in general have a low PPV. The relatively high PPV in patients with histologically proven high grade solid tumors, advanced stages of NHL and with nodular sclerosing, lymphocyte-rich and lymphocyte depleted subtypes of HL warrant a confirmation by biopsy, whereas the watch-and-wait approach can be used in other forms of childhood cancer patients with a positive FDG-PET/CT result in course of follow-up examinations