Investigation of Clinical Histopathologic Features and Metabolic Parameters of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT in Invasive Breast...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Radiology
• Pathology

Background:

• The micropapillary (MP) pattern in breast cancer is associated with aggressive behavior.
• ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT) is a key imaging modality for cancer staging and assessment.
• Maximum standardized uptake value (SUV_max) from ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT is often used as a biomarker for tumor aggressiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the correlation between clinical histopathologic features, specifically the micropapillary (MP) ratio, and SUV_max in treatment-naïve breast cancer.
• To determine if SUV_max is a reliable indicator of tumor aggressiveness in breast cancer patients with an MP component.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 29 treatment-naïve breast cancer patients with a confirmed MP component.
• ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT imaging was performed before any treatment.
• Clinical histopathological features and SUV_max values for primary tumors and metastatic axillary lymph nodes were recorded and analyzed.

Main Results:

• The MP component percentage showed no significant correlation with most clinical histopathological features, except for age, with higher MP ratios observed in younger patients.
• No significant correlation was found between SUV_max values and the MP component percentage in the studied cohort.

Conclusions:

• The study challenges the assumption that high SUV_max values directly correlate with aggressive tumor behavior in the micropapillary breast cancer subgroup.
• SUV_max may not be a reliable predictor of aggressiveness in breast cancer patients with a significant MP component, despite its aggressive clinical course.