The relationship between 18F-FDG metabolic volumetric parameters and clinicopathological factors of breast cancer

• Published in: Nuclear medicine communications Vol. 34; no. 6; pp. 562 - 570
• Main Authors: Kaida, Hayato, Toh, Uhi, Hayakawa, Masanobu, Hattori, Satoshi, Fujii, Teruhiko, Kurata, Seiji, Kawahara, Akihiko, Hirose, Yasumitsu, Kage, Masayoshi, Ishibashi, Masatoshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 01-06-2013
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Breast Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Breast Neoplasms - metabolism; Breast Neoplasms - pathology; Female; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; Humans; Middle Aged; Positron-Emission Tomography; Retrospective Studies; ROC Curve; Tumor Burden
• ISSN: 0143-3636; 1473-5628
• DOI: 10.1097/MNM.0b013e328360d945

OBJECTIVESThis study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose metabolic parameters [maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), metabolic tumor volume (MTV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG)] and clinicopathological factors of breast cancer.
METHODSThe study comprised 93 patients. A volumetric region of interest was drawn over the abnormal focal uptake of breast cancer. Spearman’s rank correlation, the Kruskal–Wallis test, and receiver operating characteristic analysis were used to investigate the relationship between clinicopathological factors and metabolic parameters and determine which metabolic parameters were most highly associated with clinicopathological factors.
RESULTSAll parameters had a statistically significant relationship with pathological T stage (p-T stage), pathological N status (p-N status), pathological stage (p-stage), and triple-negative type (TN) (all P values were <0.05). There were statistically significant differences between SUVmax and TLG in relation to lymphatic invasion, estrogen receptor, and nuclear grade (P<0.05). High MTV showed a tendency toward association with estrogen receptor negativity, but the relation did not reach the level of statistical significance (P=0.056). No statistically significant relationship was observed between MTV and lymphatic invasion or nuclear grade. In the receiver operating characteristic analysis of p-T stage and p-stage, the AUC for TLG was significantly larger than that for SUVmax (P=0.0003 and 0.048, respectively). There were marginally significant differences between TLG and MTV in relation to p-stage (P=0.058).
CONCLUSIONTLG may reflect tumor metabolism for clinicopathological factors of breast cancer better than SUVmax or MTV.