PET/CT imaging for Monitoring recurrence and evaluating response to treatment in breast cancer

Abstract

Monitoring recurrence and evaluating response to therapy are important aspects of clinical decision making in the treatment of breast cancer. In this literature review, the authors highlight several of the key areas where integrated fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) measurements are anticipated to have a significant impact on monitoring recurrence and evaluating response to therapy. These areas include comparing FDG PET/CT with conventional imaging for detecting breast cancer metastases; evaluating the role of FDG PET/CT in the presence of elevated tumor markers during follow-up period after the primary surgery; using FDG PET/CT to assess response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), targeted and endocrine therapies; using FDG PET/CT to predict response to NAC according to different molecular phenotypes of breast cancer; and applying PET/CT and some new breast-related PET tracers to evaluate response to anticancer treatment. The authors consider the relative advantages afforded by PET/CT and summarize current evidence as to the likely value of PET/CT in recurrence detection and anticancer treatment response prediction.