18 F-FDG PET/CT for the early prediction of the response rate and survival of patients with recurrent or metastatic breast cancer.

The present study aimed to explore the value of fludeoxyglucose F 18 positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) for the early prediction of chemotherapy remission rates and survival in patients with recurrent and metastatic breast cancer. A total of 24 patients diagnosed with recurrent or metastatic breast cancer between 2009 and 2014 were enrolled. All patients underwent a PET/CT examination prior to (PET/CT1) and following (PET/CT2) chemotherapy. Differences of PET/CT1 maximal standardized uptake values (SUVmax), PET/CT2 SUVmax, SUVmax and the SUVmax% between objective remission (OR) and non-OR groups were measured. Survival differences between OR and non-OR groups and the overall survival (OS) between metabolic responsive and metabolic non-responsive groups were analyzed. In the present study, it was revealed that SUVmax and SUVmax% were significantly higher in the OR group compared with the non-OR group (P<0.001). Overall survival was significantly prolonged in the OR and metabolic responder groups compared with their respective control groups (P<0.001 and P<0.01, respectively). SUVmax% were significantly positively associated with OS (r(2)=0.266; P<0.01). In conclusion, PET/CT may be valuable for the early prediction of the chemotherapy efficacy and survival of patients with recurrent or metastatic breast cancer.