Whither the PET scan? The role of PET imaging in the staging and treatment of breast cancer.
Curr Oncol Rep
; 14(1): 20-6, 2012 Feb.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-22094933
ABSTRACT
Metabolic imaging may contribute to a better knowledge of the biology of breast cancer and to new drugs development. Positron emission tomography (PET) with the radiolabeled glucose analogue 2- [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) allows quantitative assessment of glucose utilization in tumor tissue. This technique utilizes a class of radioisotopes that decay by emitting a positron. The positron travels a short distance (1 mm) before interacting with an electron in what is called an annihilation reaction. This results in the creation of two high-energy photons that are emitted in opposite directions. The PET scanner detects such annihilation radiations and produces a three-dimensional picture of the distribution of the radiolabeled tracer. 18F-FDG PET has currently a limited role in breast cancer, due to its low sensitivity that makes it not recommended in most of the cases, especially in early disease. Potentially, the most useful application of PET/CT is monitoring the changes in 18F-FDG uptake during chemotherapy in order to detect an early response to treatment. In fact, while morphological changes due to effective chemotherapy are not detectable until late in the course of treatment, metabolic changes generally occur earlier. In this paper, we summarize the current and future applications of PET in the management of breast cancer.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Neoplasias da Mama
/
Compostos Radiofarmacêuticos
/
Fluordesoxiglucose F18
/
Tomografia por Emissão de Pósitrons
/
Estadiamento de Neoplasias
Tipo de estudo:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Screening_studies
Limite:
Female
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2012
Tipo de documento:
Article