A novel biomarker, active whole skeletal total lesion glycolysis (WS-TLG), as a quantitative method to measure bone metastatic activity in breast cancer patients.

Objective: There is no good response evaluation method for skeletal metastasis. We aimed to develop a novel quantitative method to evaluate the response of skeletal metastasis, especially lytic lesions, for treatment.

Methods: A method to measure active bone metastatic burden quantitatively using F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography with computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) in breast cancer patients, whole skeletal total lesion glycolysis (WS-TLG), a summation of each skeletal lesion's TLG, was developed. To identify active bone lesions, a tentative cutoff value was decided using FDG-PET/CT in 85 breast cancer patients without skeletal metastasis and 35 with skeletal metastasis by changing the cutoff value. Then, the WS-TLG method was evaluated by comparing to PET Response Criteria in Solid Tumor (PERCIST) or European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) criteria for only bone in 15 breast cancer patients with skeletal metastasis who were treated.

Results: A cutoff value of the standardized uptake value (SUV) = 4.0 gave 91% (77/85) specificity and 97% (34/35) sensitivity. We decided on SUV = 4.0 as a tentative cutoff value. Skeletal metastases of lytic and mixed types showed higher WS-TLG values than those of blastic or intertrabecular types, although statistical significance was not tested. All 15 patients showed agreement with PERCIST or EORTC in the therapeutic bone response.

Conclusion: This quantitative WS-TLG method appears to be a good biomarker to evaluate skeletal metastasis in breast cancer patients, especially lytic or mixed types. Further clinical studies are warranted to assess the clinical values of this new WS-TLG method.