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Date Published: 09/02/2026
Abstract Views: 5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.55046/vjrnm.60.1362.2025
Issue
No. 60 (2025)
Section
Scientific research
How to Cite
Cao, V. T., Nguyen, Q. T., Le, Q. H., Nguyen, V. K., Pham, L. S., & Pham, V. T. (2025). Assessment of the Value of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT in Identifying Recurrent Breast Cancer Lesions. Vietnamese Journal of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, 60, 19-28. https://doi.org/10.55046/vjrnm.60.1362.2025

Assessment of the Value of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT in Identifying Recurrent Breast Cancer Lesions

Văn Trung Cao1, , Nguyen Quang Toan2, Le Quang Hien3, Nguyen Van Khai4, Pham Lam Son2, Pham Van Thai5
1 Trường Đại học Y Hà Nội
2 Department of Nuclear Medicine, K Hospital
3 Nuclear Medicine and Oncology Center, Bach Mai Hospital
4 Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hanoi Oncology Hospital
5 Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hanoi Medical University

Main Article Content

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT in detecting recurrent lesions in breast cancer patients following curative-intent therapy at K Hospital.


Subjects and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study enrolled 115 female breast cancer patients with clinical or paraclinical suspicion of recurrence at least six months after completion of curative-intent treatment at K Hospital between November 2021 and December 2023. All participants underwent ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT for lesion evaluation. Histopathology and/or cytology served as the reference standard.


Results: The mean age was 53.7 ± 10.1 years. Invasive ductal carcinoma of no special type accounted for 83.5% of cases; the ER-positive/HER-2–negative phenotype comprised 43.7%. ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT demonstrated a sensitivity of 91.8%, specificity of 93.3%, positive predictive value of 90.9%, negative predictive value of 92.2%, and overall accuracy of 92.2%. The mean SUVₘₐₓ of recurrent lesions was 10.4 ± 4.7, and ROC curve analysis yielded an area under the curve of 0.92, indicating excellent diagnostic performance. Moreover, PET/CT detected additional lesions in 28 of 56 patients with confirmed recurrence, achieving the highest positive predictive value among all modalities evaluated.


Conclusion: ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT exhibits high accuracy for the detection of recurrent breast cancer compared with other imaging modalities, with SUVₘₐₓ values readily detectable and the capacity to identify additional lesions.

Keywords

recurrent breast cancer, ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT

Article Details

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