New research published in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine suggests an 18F-FDG PET/CT scan reveals previously undetected breast cancers in male patients with pre-PET/CT stage IIB breast cancer, and in patients with stage III breast cancer.
“18F-FDG PET/CT has demonstrated substantial value in systemic staging of newly diagnosed breast cancer in women,” wrote lead author Gary Ulaner, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, and colleagues. “However, it is not known whether breast cancer in male patients benefit similarly.”
Ulaner and colleagues sought to assess whether 18F-FDG PET/CT would detect unsuspected distant metastases stratified by pre-PET/CT in patients with newly diagnosed male breast cancer. The researchers specifically screened for male patients who exhibited stage I-III breast cancer who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT before radiation between 2004 to 2017.
Baseline stage was determined by mammography, ultrasound and/or surgery. 18F-FDG PET/CT was evaluated to identify unsuspected metastases thereby determining a post-PET/CT stage. Rates of upstaging to stage IV were determined for each initial stage, the researchers noted.
A total of 39 male patients, with stage I to stage III breast cancer were used as the final study cohort. A total of 95 percent of the cohort exhibited ductal carcinoma. The researchers also found:
- 18F-FDG PET/CT found previously unsuspected distant metastases in a total of 18 percent of the cohort, which increased their breast cancer to stage IV.
- 18F-FDG PET/CT found previously unsuspected distant metastases in 16 percent of initial stage IIB patients and 33 percent of initial stage III patients.
- 18F-FDG PET/CT also detected an unsuspected synchronous lymphoma in one patient.
“These rates are comparable to previously published upstaging rates in female patients,” the authors concluded. “18F-FDG PET/CT demonstrates value for systemic staging of male patients with breast cancer, and should be considered for use in newly diagnosed patients, particularly those with stage IIB and III disease.”
As a senior news writer for TriMed, Subrata covers cardiology, clinical innovation and healthcare business. She has a master’s degree in communication management and 12 years of experience in journalism and public relations.