Abstract
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this study was to evaluate whether uptake on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) PET could help differentiate HER2-positive from HER2-negative breast cancer brain metastases.
Methods
In this retrospective, cross-sectional study of a cohort of 14 histologically proven breast cancer brain metastases, we analyzed both preoperative 18F-FDG PET/CT and HER2 status of the resected/biopsied brain specimens. The maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmax) of the lesions were normalized to contralateral normal white matter and compared using Mann–Whitney U tests.
Results
The study cohort was comprised of 12 women with breast cancer with a mean age of 59 years (range: 43–76 years) with a total of 14 distinct brain metastatic lesions. The SUVmax ratio of HER2-positive breast cancer brain metastases was significantly greater than that of HER2-negative lesions (3.98 vs 1.79, U = 38.00, p = 0.008).
Conclusion
The SUVmax ratio may help to identify the HER2 status of breast cancer brain metastases, if validated prospectively.
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and imaging