Nuclear Breast Imaging: Clinical Results and Future Directions

Interest in nuclear breast imaging is increasing because of technical improvements in dedicated devices that allow the use of relatively low doses of radiotracers with high sensitivity for even small breast cancers. For women with newly diagnosed cancer, primary chemotherapy is often recommended, and improved methods of assessing treatment response are of interest. With widespread breast density notification, functional rather than anatomic methods of screening are of increasing interest as well. For a cancer imaging technology to be adopted, several criteria must be met that will be discussed: evidence of clinical benefit with minimal harm, standardized interpretive criteria, direct biopsy guidance, and acceptable cost-effectiveness.