Key clinical point: In patients with locally advanced breast cancer (BC), staging with 18F-labeled fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) was more effective than conventional staging for detecting asymptomatic distant metastases.
Major finding: More than twice the number of patients undergoing PET-CT vs conventional staging were upstaged to stage IV BC (relative risk 2.4; P = .002), with combined modality treatment being received by fewer patients in the PET-CT vs conventional staging group (81% vs 89%; P = .03).
Study details: Findings are from the PET ABC study including 369 patients with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast and TNM stage III or IIb BC who were randomly assigned to undergo 18F-labeled fluorodeoxyglucose PET-CT (whole body) or conventional staging (bone scan and CT of the chest/abdomen and pelvis).
Disclosures: This study did not report the source of funding. Some authors declared receiving honoraria from or serving as employees, consultants, or advisors for different sources.
Source: Dayes IS et al. Impact of 18F-labeled fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography versus conventional staging in patients with locally advanced breast cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2023 (May 26). doi: 10.1200/JCO.23.00249