RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: The goal of this initial clinical study was to test a new positron emission/tomography imager and biopsy system (PEM/PET) in a small group of selected subjects to assess its clinical imaging capabilities. Specifically, the main task of this study is to determine whether the new system can successfully be used to produce images of known breast cancer and compare them to those acquired by standard techniques. METHODS: The PEM/PET system consists of two pairs of rotating radiation detectors located beneath a patient table. The scanner has a spatial resolution of â¼2 mm in all three dimensions. The subjects consisted of five patients diagnosed with locally advanced breast cancer ranging in age from 40 to 55 years old scheduled for pre-treatment, conventional whole body PET imaging with F-18 Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). The primary lesions were at least 2 cm in diameter. RESULTS: The images from the PEM/PET system demonstrated that this system is capable of identifying some lesions not visible in standard mammograms. Furthermore, while the relatively large lesions imaged in this study where all visualised by a standard whole body PET/CT scanner, some of the morphology of the tumours (ductal infiltration, for example) was better defined with the PEM/PET system. Significantly, these images were obtained immediately following a standard whole body PET scan. CONCLUSIONS: The initial testing of the new PEM/PET system demonstrated that the new system is capable of producing good quality breast-PET images compared standard methods.
Assuntos
Neoplasias da Mama/diagnóstico por imagem , Interpretação de Imagem Assistida por Computador/métodos , Imageamento Tridimensional/métodos , Armazenamento e Recuperação da Informação/métodos , Reconhecimento Automatizado de Padrão/métodos , Tomografia por Emissão de Pósitrons/instrumentação , Técnica de Subtração , Algoritmos , Inteligência Artificial , Mama/diagnóstico por imagem , Análise por Conglomerados , Gráficos por Computador , Simulação por Computador , Desenho de Equipamento , Análise de Falha de Equipamento , Feminino , Humanos , Aumento da Imagem/métodos , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Modelos Biológicos , Modelos Estatísticos , Análise Numérica Assistida por Computador , Projetos Piloto , Reprodutibilidade dos Testes , Sensibilidade e Especificidade , Processamento de Sinais Assistido por Computador , Interface Usuário-ComputadorRESUMO
We report two cases in which routine mammograms showed a significant increase in breast density compared to previous studies. Review of patient histories revealed that both women had been receiving contraceptive injections of Depo-Provera at the time of their earlier mammograms. Breast density increased after Depo-Provera was discontinued. We postulate that Depo-Provera has a suppressive effect on breast density. Alterations in breast density may have implications regarding breast cancer risk. Etiologies of generalized change in breast density are reviewed.
