Staging and Restaging of Breast Cancer Using FDG-PET and PET/CT

Since the introduction of 18-F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) to clinical oncologic imaging, studies have examined potential uses of the modality in the evaluation of breast cancer, including primary detection, initial staging, restaging, monitoring response to therapy, and predicting clinical prognosis. Although axillary lymph node staging using FDG-PET remains controversial, numerous studies have established a role for FDG-PET imaging in detecting locoregional recurrence and distant metastases. Furthermore, quantitative analysis of FDG uptake has been investigated as a potential tool for predicting the biological behavior of the tumor and inferring clinical prognosis. The recent introduction of combined positron emission tomography/x-ray computed tomography (PET/CT) systems has shown promise in improving the accuracy of PET imaging and potentially obviating the need for performing additional cross-sectional imaging in cases of suspected distant metastases.