Correlation between combined imaging modalities of 18F-FDG PET/CT and 3.0T MRI and expression of Ki-67 in breast cancer

Objective To explore the correlation between combined imaging modalities of 18F-FDG PET/CT and 3.0T MRI and expression of Ki-67 (proliferating cell nuclear antigen)in breast cancer.Methods A retrospective study was carried out in eighteen patients with pathologically confirmed primary breast cancer,who underwent both 18F-FDG PET/CT and 3.0T MRI examinations before operation.The interval between immunohistochemisty and combined imaging examinations was not more than one week after operation.The correlations between maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) as well as the score of combined imaging modalities and the expression level of Ki-67 were analyzed.Results ①Apositive correlation between SUVmax and expression level of Ki-67 was demonstrated in breast cancer lesions(r=0.473,P＜0.05).②A significantly positive correlation between the score of combined imaging modalities and the expression level of Ki-67 was also noted (r=0.674,P＜0.01).Conclusion Tumor proliferation can be reflected by the combined imaging modalities of 18F-FDG PET/CT and 3.0T MRI,indicating a potential role in predicting prognosis of breast cancer. Key words: Breast neoplasms;  Proliferating cell nuclear antigen;  Positron-emission tomography; Tomography, X-ray computed;  Magnetic resonance imaging