Diagnostic Role of Fluorodeoxyglucose PET in Breast Cancer

Histologic subtype, receptor status, and other biologic factors greatly affect the avidity of breast malignancy on fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET. FDG PET/computed tomography (CT) has demonstrated excellent value in the evaluation of extra-axillary nodal and distant metastases. Patients with early-stage breast cancers do not benefit from FDG PET/CT; however, unsuspected distant metastases may be revealed by systemic staging of locally advanced breast cancers by FDG PET/CT, and this has substantial impact on patient management. FDG PET/CT has demonstrated value in the evaluation of treatment response and in detection of disease recurrence.