RESUMEN
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.
Asunto(s)
Neoplasias de la Mama/diagnóstico por imagen , Interpretación de Imagen Asistida por Computador/métodos , Imagenología Tridimensional/métodos , Almacenamiento y Recuperación de la Información/métodos , Reconocimiento de Normas Patrones Automatizadas/métodos , Tomografía de Emisión de Positrones/instrumentación , Técnica de Sustracción , Algoritmos , Inteligencia Artificial , Mama/diagnóstico por imagen , Análisis por Conglomerados , Gráficos por Computador , Simulación por Computador , Diseño de Equipo , Análisis de Falla de Equipo , Femenino , Humanos , Aumento de la Imagen/métodos , Persona de Mediana Edad , Modelos Biológicos , Modelos Estadísticos , Análisis Numérico Asistido por Computador , Proyectos Piloto , Reproducibilidad de los Resultados , Sensibilidad y Especificidad , Procesamiento de Señales Asistido por Computador , Interfaz Usuario-ComputadorRESUMEN
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.