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Positron Emission Tomography Scan Results in Management Changes for Majority of Breast Cancer Patients RESTON, VA -- September 4, 2001 -- A positron emission tomography (PET) scan changed the clinical management of 60 percent of women with recurrent breast cancer. It also changed the cancer staging for 36 percent of those scanned, according to a new survey of referring physicians published September 4 in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. Results for 50 patients with breast cancer were reported by 32 different physicians. Clinical management changes included moving from one type of treatment to another; that is, for example, from surgery to radiation therapy, or from medical treatment to no treatment. Other changes were within the existing treatment, such as changing from one kind of chemotherapy to another. The impact of the PET scan results was also significant on disease staging. More than a quarter (28 percent; n = 14) were upstaged and 8 percent (n = 4) were downstaged. Before the scan, 36 percent of the patients were reported as having stage IV cancer; after the scan, more than half (52 percent) were at this level as a result of finding previously undetected metastases. "These results demonstrate the importance of PET in making treatment decisions for women with recurrent breast cancer," stated study author Johannes Czernin, MD, of the Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Ahmanson Biological Imaging Clinic/Nuclear Medicine Clinic, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). "Better treatment decisions should mean longer and better quality of life for those suffering from this disease." All of the patients referred for PET scans had been sent for restaging. Dr. Czernin noted that even when staging itself wasn't affected, physicians often changed the clinical management as a result of the scan, adding to its importance. "This study, combined with the Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee's June 19 vote in favor of reimbursement for recurrent breast cancer, reinforces the role and the importance of PET in the disease management and treatment planning of women with breast cancer," Dr. Czernin stated. The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that there will be approximately 193,706 new cases of invasive breast cancer in 2001 among women in the United States and about 40,600 deaths from the disease. According to the ACS, declining death rates "are probably the result of earlier detection and improved treatment." The survey was conducted at the Ahmanson Biological Imaging Clinic of UCLA and the Northern California PET Imaging Center (NCPIC), the facilities to which the patients were referred for their scans. The referring physicians of 160 breast cancer patients who underwent whole-body fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET at Ahmanson and the NCPIC were surveyed. Thirty-two referring physicians for 50 patients returned the completed, two-stage survey. SOURCE: The Society of Nuclear Medicine E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version