This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Couturier, O. Articles by Hustinx, R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Couturier, O. Articles by Hustinx, R.

Sequential Positron Emission Tomography Using [¹⁸F]Fluorodeoxyglucose for Monitoring Response to Chemotherapy in Metastatic Breast Cancer

Authors' Affiliations: ¹ Division of Nuclear Medicine, Hôtel Dieu and ² Division of Biostatistics, Hôpital St. Jacques, CHU Nantes, France; and Divisions of ³ Medical Oncology and ⁴ Nuclear Medicine, CHU Liège, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium

Requests for reprints: Roland Hustinx, Division of Nuclear Medicine, CHU Sart Tilman, B35 4000 Liège 1, Belgium. Phone: 3243667199; E-mail: rhustinx{at}chu.ulg.ac.be.

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical value of positron emission tomography (PET) for monitoring chemotherapy in metastatic breast cancer.

Experimental Design: Twenty patients with hormonorefractory or hormonoreceptor-negative multimetastatic breast cancer were prospectively included. PET studies were done at baseline, at day 21 after the first cycle and at day 21 after the third cycle of chemotherapy. Metabolic response was defined based on visual and various modes of standardized uptake value (SUV) analysis of sequential PET studies.

Results: After one cycle, PET indicated a partial response in 12 patients, stable disease in 7 patients, and progressive disease in 1 patient, according to the visual analysis. After three cycles, PET showed a complete response in 5 patients, partial response in 11 patients, stable disease in 3 patients, and progressive disease in 1 patient. Seventy-five percent of the patients showing a metabolic response on visual analysis effectively responded to the treatment. The average SUV decreased on both the second and the third PET study, but only changes measured after three cycles of chemotherapy predicted the clinical response to chemotherapy and the overall survival. All methods for calculating the SUV (normalized for body weight, body surface area, or lean body mass) provided similar results.

Conclusion: Semiquantitative analysis of [¹⁸F]fluorodeoxyglucose-PET studies done after three cycles of chemotherapy is useful for monitoring the response to chemotherapy in metastatic breast cancer.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. K. Dunnwald, J. R. Gralow, G. K. Ellis, R. B. Livingston, H. M. Linden, J. M. Specht, R. K. Doot, T. J. Lawton, W. E. Barlow, B. F. Kurland, et al. Tumor Metabolism and Blood Flow Changes by Positron Emission Tomography: Relation to Survival in Patients Treated With Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Locally Advanced Breast Cancer J. Clin. Oncol., September 20, 2008; 26(27): 4449 - 4457. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				U. Tateishi, C. Gamez, S. Dawood, H. W. D. Yeung, M. Cristofanilli, and H. A. Macapinlac Bone Metastases in Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer: Morphologic and Metabolic Monitoring of Response to Systemic Therapy with Integrated PET/CT Radiology, April 1, 2008; 247(1): 189 - 196. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. C. Hodgson and K. Y. Gulenchyn Is There a Role for Positron Emission Tomography in Breast Cancer Staging? J. Clin. Oncol., February 10, 2008; 26(5): 712 - 720. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]