Role of Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography in Assessing Breast Cancer Recurrence | ||
| Egyptian Reviews for Medical and Health Sciences | ||
| Volume 7, Issue 1, December 2025, Pages 58-70 PDF (299.99 K) | ||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/ermhs.2025.438088.1080 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Noha Jamal Alzayat* ; Ahmed Attia Hassan; Mohamed Abdel-Ghaffar Borg | ||
| Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Egypt | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Breast cancer (BC) is the most prevalent malignancy and the most common leading cause of cancer-related deaths among females. This study evaluated the role of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/ computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) in detecting loco-regional and distant metastatic recurrence during post-operative surveillance in BC cases. It was conducted on 60 BC females who underwent PET/CT imaging for suspected recurrence at the PET/CT unit of Radiology Department in Mansoura University Oncology Center. Pre-procedural assessments included clinical evaluation, laboratory investigations, and standardized FDG-PET/CT preparation protocols. Among the 60 patients, 113 suspected recurrent lesions were detected, and 97 were confirmed as recurrence by histopathologic evaluation &/or clinical and radiological follow-up. The commonest recurrence site was extra-regional lymph nodes, followed by bone. The commonest indication for PET/CT scan was equivocal conventional imaging findings (43.3%), followed by elevated serum tumor markers (31.7%). The results showed that CECT had 89.7% sensitivity, 6.25% specificity, 77.9% accuracy, 85.3% PPV, and 9.1% NPV in detection of recurrence. The PET scan had 96.9% sensitivity, 68.8% specificity, 92.9% accuracy, 94.9% PPV, and 78.6% NPV in detection of recurrence. The PET/CT had 100% sensitivity, 75% specificity, 96.5% accuracy, 96% PPV, and 100% NPV in detection of recurrence. The 18F-FDG PET/CT thus demonstrated a superior diagnostic performance in detecting recurrence among BC cases compared with CECT and PET-alone, with significantly greater sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. It outperformed CECT in identifying small lymph nodes, contralateral breast, liver, and bone recurrences, and corrected overestimations made by CECT. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Breast cancer; Positron Emission Tomography; Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography; Recurrence; Tumor markers | ||
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