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Comparison of FDG-PET/CT and contrast-enhanced CT for monitoring therapy response in patients with metastatic breast cancer

European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging volume 44, pages 1428–1437 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to compare fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) and contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CE-CT) for the prediction of progression-free survival (PFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) in patients with stage IV breast cancer undergoing systemic therapy.

Methods

Sixty-five patients with metastatic breast cancer treated with first- or second-line systemic therapy in prospective clinical trials were included. Response to treatment was evaluated by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) 1.1 for CE-CT and by PET Response Criteria in Solid Tumors (PERCIST), respectively.

Results

All responders by RECIST (n = 22) were also responders by PERCIST, but 40% (17/43) of non-responders by RECIST were responders by PERCIST. Responses according to RECIST and PERCIST both correlated with PFS, but PERCIST showed a significantly higher predictive accuracy (concordance index for PFS: 0.70 vs. 0.60). One-year PFS for responders vs. non-responders by RECIST was 59% vs. 27%, compared to 63% vs. 0% by PERCIST. Four-year DSS of responders and non-responders by RECIST was 50% and 38%, respectively (p = 0.2, concordance index: 0.55) as compared to 58% vs. 18% for PERCIST (p < 0.001, concordance index: 0.65). Response on PET/CT was also a significantly better predictor for DSS than disease control on CE-CT.

Conclusions

In patients with metastatic breast cancer, tumor response on PET/CT appears to be a superior predictor of PFS and DSS than response on CE-CT. Monitoring tumor response by PET/CT may increase the power of clinical trials using tumor response as an endpoint, and may improve patient management in clinical routine.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA

    Christopher C. Riedl, Katja Pinker, Gary A. Ulaner, Leonard T. Ong, Maxine S. Jochelson & Wolfgang A. Weber

  2. Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, 10065, USA

    Christopher C. Riedl, Gary A. Ulaner, Maxine S. Jochelson & Wolfgang A. Weber

  3. Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Katja Pinker & Pascal Baltzer

  4. Department of Medicine, Breast Oncology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, 90048, USA

    Heather L. McArthur

  5. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA

    Mithat Gönen

  6. Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA

    Maura Dickler

Authors
  1. Christopher C. Riedl
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  7. Heather L. McArthur
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  10. Wolfgang A. Weber
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christopher C. Riedl.

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Funding

This study was funded by a Susan G. Komen for the Cure research grant (KG110441) and MSKCC Biostatistics Core (P30 CA008748).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

This HIPAA-compliant, retrospective, single-institution study was performed under institutional review board approval.

Informed consent was waived due to the retrospective nature of the study.

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Riedl, C.C., Pinker, K., Ulaner, G.A. et al. Comparison of FDG-PET/CT and contrast-enhanced CT for monitoring therapy response in patients with metastatic breast cancer. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 44, 1428–1437 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-017-3703-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-017-3703-7

Keywords

  • FDG
  • PET/CT
  • Breast cancer
  • Treatment response
  • Survival