PET in women with high risk for breast or ovarian cancer

Data on the use of PET in women with genetic or familial high-risk for breast or ovarian cancer are scarce. Open issues include the complementary use of dedicated breast-PET scanners in patients at high-risk for breast cancer, the relation between pathological characteristics of cancer diagnosed in BRCA carriers and (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG)-avidity, and the predictive value of PET in patients at high-risk for ovarian cancer presenting with a pelvic mass or potential chemical markers. Therefore, the use of PET in high-risk patients with unproven malignant disease needs to be investigated in well designed clinical trials. Once breast or ovarian cancer is diagnosed, indications for (18)F-FDG-PET or PET-CT imaging are similar for high-risk patients and patients with sporadic cancer. However, PET can provide data that are beyond tumour detection per se. Future directions of PET in high-risk patients might include monitoring the response of BRCA carriers to new treatments such as poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors, personalisation of treatment, and the use of new PET tracers to investigate the tissue changes related to increased risk for breast and ovarian cancer.