Selected inflammatory breast cancer research published in 2020
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An abstract is a brief summary of a research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding, or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject and is often used to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper’s purpose. The abstract can convey the main results and conclusions of a scientific article but the full text article must be consulted for details of the methodology, the full experimental results, and a critical discussion of the interpretations and conclusions.
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Jacene, H. A., et al. (2020). Discrepancy between FDG-PET/CT and contrast-enhanced CT in the staging of patients with inflammatory breast cancer: Implications for treatment planning. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 181(2), 383-390. doi:10.1007/s10549-020-05631-4.
PURPOSE:
Optimizing treatment strategies for patients with inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) relies on accurate initial staging. This study compared contrast-enhanced computed tomography (ce-CT) and FDG-PET/CT for initial staging of IBC to determine the frequency of discordance between the two imaging modalities and potential impact on management.
RESULTS:
There were 47 discordant findings between ce-CT and FDG-PET/CT in 41 of 81 patients (50.6%). Thirty (63.8%) were related to the presence or absence of distant metastases; most commonly disease detection on FDG-PET/CT but not ce-CT (n = 12). FDG-PET/CT suggested alterations of the locoregional radiation therapy plan designed by CT alone in 15 patients. FDG-PET/CT correctly characterized 5 of 7 findings equivocal for metastatic IBC on ce-CT.
CONCLUSIONS:
This study demonstrates differences between ce-CT and FDG-PET/CT for initial staging of IBC and how these differences potentially affect patient management. Preliminary data suggest that FDG-PET/CT may be the imaging modality of choice for initial staging of IBC. Prospective trials testing initial staging with FDG-PET/CT versus important clinical end-points in IBC are warranted.