Diagnostic Performance of FDG-PET/CT Scan as Compared to US-Guided FNA in Prediction of Axillary Lymph Node Involvement in Breast Cancer Patients.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic ability of 2-deoxy-2-[fluorine-18]fluoro-d-glucose (F-FDG) PET/non-contrast CT compared with those of ultrasound (US)-guided fine needle aspiration (FNA) for axillary lymph node (ALN) staging in breast cancer patients.

Patients And Methods: Preoperative F-FDG PET/non-contrast CT was performed in 268 women with breast cancer, as well as ALN dissection or sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy. One hundred sixty-four patients underwent US-guided FNA in combination with F-FDG PET/CT.