Positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography (PET/CT) has been receiving increasing attention during the recent years for making the diagnosis, for determining the staging and for the follow-up of various malignancies. The PET/CT findings of 58 breast cancer patients (age range: 34-79 years old, mean age: 50 years) were retrospectively compared with the PET or CT scans alone. PET/CT was found to be better than PET or CT alone for detecting small tumors or multiple metastases, for accurately localizing lymph node metastasis and for monitoring the response to chemotherapy in breast cancer patients.
Adult ; Aged ; Bone Neoplasms/*diagnosis/pathology/secondary ; Breast/pathology/radionuclide imaging ; Breast Neoplasms/*diagnosis/pathology/radionuclide imaging ; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast/diagnosis/pathology ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating/*diagnosis/pathology/radionuclide imaging ; Contrast Media/administration & dosage ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Mammography/methods ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/*diagnosis/pathology ; Neoplasm Staging/methods ; Positron-Emission Tomography/*methods ; Radiographic Image Enhancement/methods ; Reproducibility of Results ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed/*methods ; Ultrasonography, Mammary