FDG-PET/CT study suggests change in breast cancer guidelines

FDG-PET/CT's aptitude for finding distant metastases in patients with stage III invasive ductal carcinoma has prompted researchers to suggest that the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) add histology to its guidelines for determining the best method of staging.

According to a study, FDG-PET/CT discovered significantly more unsuspected distant metastases in patients with newly diagnosed stage III invasive ductal cancer than in those with stage III invasive lobular cancer.

The researchers from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Weill Cornell Medical College also found that FDG-PET/CT upstaged more than 20% of patients with invasive ductal cancer to stage IV, resulting in a change in their treatment regimen. Read more.