Source
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Saint-Louis Hospital, Paris, France. dgroheux@yahoo.fr
Abstract
Triple-negative breast cancer, an aggressive subtype, represents 15% of invasive breast tumors. This prospective study investigated whether early changes in (18)F-FDG tumor uptake during neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) can predict outcomes.
METHODS:
Twenty (M0) patients underwent (18)F-FDG PET/CT at baseline and after the second cycle. NAC was continued irrespective of PET results.
RESULTS:
At surgery, 6 patients had a pathologic complete response, whereas 14 had residual tumor. Four patients showed early relapse (in the 2 y after surgery). There were 11 metabolic responders and 9 nonresponders using a 42% decrease in maximum standardized uptake value as a cutoff. In nonresponding patients, the risk of residual tumor at surgery was 100% (vs. 45% in responders; P = 0.014), and the risk of early relapse was 44% (vs. 0%; P = 0.024).
CONCLUSION:
A less than 42% decrease in (18)F-FDG uptake at 2 cycles means residual tumor at the end of NAC and a high risk of early relapse.