Utility of PET in Breast Cancer.

Breast cancer represents the most frequent malignant disease in women and the second leading cause of cancer death in western countries. Current available treatment includes surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and hormonal therapy. The disease is often curable when detected in early stages.

Comparison of fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography and "conventional diagnostic procedures" for the detection of distant metastases in breast cancer patients.

The presence of distant metastases is the main prognostic factor in patients with breast cancer and has a significant influence in the choice of therapy. Therefore, chest X-ray, bone scintigraphy and ultrasound of the abdomen are performed to detect distant metastases at diagnosis and follow-up. Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET) has been shown to provide sensitive detection of primary tumour and metastases for many tumour entities, but little information is available about the diagnostic value for breast cancer patients.