Clinical Imaging
Volume 33, Issue 6 , Pages 468-470 , November 2009

Flare phenomenon in positron emission tomography in a case of breast cancer—a pitfall of positron emission tomography imaging interpretation

  • Dom-Gene Tu

      Affiliations

    • Department of Nuclear Medicine, Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chia-Yi, Taiwan
    • Center of General Education, Chang Jung Christian University, Tainan, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Wei-Jen Yao

      Affiliations

    • Department of Nuclear Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author.
    • ,
  • Tsai-Wang Chang

      Affiliations

    • Department of Surgery, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Nan-Tsing Chiu

      Affiliations

    • Department of Nuclear Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Yi-Hsun Chen

      Affiliations

    • Department of Nuclear Medicine, Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chia-Yi, Taiwan

Received 8 February 2009 ,Accepted 27 February 2009.

References 

  1. Jansson T, Westlin JE, Ahlstrom H, Lilja A, Langstrom B, Bergh J. Positron emission tomography studies in patients with locally advanced and/or metastatic breast cancer: a method for early therapy evaluation?. J Clin Oncol. 1995;13:1470–1477
  2. Krak NC, van der Hoeven JJ, Hoekstra OS, Twisk JW, van der Wall E, Lammertsma AA. Measuring [18F] FDG uptake in breast cancer during chemotherapy: comparison of analytical methods. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2003;30:674–681
  3. Zangheri B, Messa C, Picchio M, Gianolli L, Landoni C, Fazio F. PET/CT and breast cancer. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2004;31(Suppl 1):S135–S142
  4. Biersack HJ, Bender H, Palmedo H. FDG-PET in monitoring therapy of breast cancer. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2004;31(Suppl 1):S112–S117
  5. Hicks RJ. The role of PET in monitoring therapy. Cancer Imaging. 2005;5:51–57
  6. Smith IC, Welch AE, Hutcheon AW, Miller ID, Payne S, Chilcott F, et al. Positron emission tomography using [18F]-fluorodeoxy-d-glucose to predict the pathologic response of breast cancer to primary chemotherapy. J Clin Oncol. 2000;18:1676–1688
  7. Mankoff DA, Dunnwald LK, Gralow JR, Ellis GK, Schubert EK, Tseng J, et al. Changes in blood flow and metabolism in locally advanced breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. J Nucl Med. 2003;44:1806–1814
  8. Dehdashti F, Flanagan FL, Mortimer JE, Katzenellenbogen JA, Welch MJ, Siegel BA. Positron emission tomography assessment of “metabolic flare” to predict response of metastatic breast cancer to antiestrogen therapy. Eur J Nul Med. 1999;26:51–56
  9. Young H, Baum R, Cremerius U, Herholz K, Hoekstra O, Lammertsma AA, et al. Measurement of clinical and subclinical tumor response using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose and positron emission tomography: review and 1999 EORTC recommendations. European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) PET study group. Eur J Cancer. 1999;35(13):1773–1782
  10. Basu S, Alavi A. Defining co-related parameters between ‘metabolic’ flare and ‘clinical’, ‘biochemical’, and ‘osteoblastic’ flare and establishing guidelines for assessing response to treatment in cancer. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2007;34:441–443

PII: S0899-7071(09)00054-0

doi: 10.1016/j.clinimag.2009.02.001

Clinical Imaging
Volume 33, Issue 6 , Pages 468-470 , November 2009

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