RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between the standard uptake value (SUV) of 18F-fluorine-2-deoxyglucose (18F-FDG) and the expression of estrogen receptor (ER) in duct carcinoma of breast, as well as their correlation. METHODS: From March 2004 to November 2006, PET/CT scans were performed to 41 patients (female, mean age (55.2 +/- 9.55) years) with duct carcinoma of breast. All of the diagnoses were proved by pathology and immunohistochemical ER assays. The SUVs were calculated. RESULTS: ER positive patients comprised 43.9% of the 41 patients. The mean age of ER positive patients was (60.20 +/- 9.34) years, older than the ER negative patients ((50.32 +/- 9.33) years, P = 0.012). The SUV in the ER positive patients (2.76 +/- 1.34) was significantly less than in the ER negative patients (5.84 +/- 2.90, P = 0 004). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) by FDG SUV for ER demonstrated that the area under curves reached 0.801 +/- 0.075, with significant implications on the expression of estrogen receptor (P = 0.002); The cut point of FDG SUV for ER was 3.135, with sensitivity of 72.2% and specificity of 73.9%. CONCLUSION: 18F-FDG SUV is significantly correlated with the expression of ER. We propose 3.135 as a threshold of SUV for the indication of expression of ER in duct carcinoma of breast.