PET-CT identifies 33% of previously undetected male breast cancer

A 18F-FDG PET/CT scan reveals previously undetected breast cancer in more than one-third of newly diagnosed male patients, according to research published online Sept. 20 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.  

Researchers from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York found that 18F-FDG PET/CT revealed previously undetected metastases in 16 percent of male patients with pre-PET/CT stage IIB breast cancer and 33 percent of those with stage III breast cancer.  

For their study, Gary Ulaner, MD, a radiologist at Sloan-Kettering, and colleagues included 39 male patients at the average age of 62 years with stage I to III breast cancer. All participants were screened with 18F-FDG PET/CT before radiation therapy or other therapy methods from 2004 to 2017.  

Additionally, participants' initial stage of breast cancer was determined by mammography, ultrasound and/or surgery. A total of 95 percent of patients had ductal carcinoma, according to the researchers.  

Of these patients, 18 percent were identified with previously unsuspected distant metastases which eventually increased to stage IV breast cancer. This included 16 percent of initial stage IIB patients and 33 percent initial stage III patients.  

“The detection of unsuspected distant metastatic disease by 18F-FDG PET/CT in these patients will increase the correct characterization of initial stage IV disease, which will result in substantial altering of treatment strategy and prognosis,” the researchers wrote. “This demonstrates the potential value of 18F-FDG PET/CT for systemic staging at initial diagnosis of male breast cancer, particularly for patients with stage IIB and III disease.”