Changes in 18F-FDG-PET/CT tumor metabolism and prediction of pathologic complete response rates after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in hormone-positive breast cancer.

e12088Background: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) by reducing the tumor size provides higher operability and breast conserving surgery rate in locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) with an advantage to evaluate chemotherapy response. The aim of this study was to assess the predictive value of relative changes in standard uptake values (SUVmax) of 18F-FDG-PET/CT for pathologic complete response (pCR) after NAC in hormone-positive breast cancer. Methods: 90 hormone-positive LABC patients treated in Marmara University Pendik Research and Training Hospital Medical Oncology Clinics, Istanbul, Turkey between 2009 and 2015 was screened. Eligibility criteria were receiving histopathological verification of hormone–positive LABC, completed NAC (4-8 cycles) and evaluated for pCR postoperatively, and PET/CT scan was performed before and after NAC (anthracycline and/or taxanes-based plus trastuzumab if necessary). The relative changes of SUVmax both in primary tumor and axilla were determined and assessed for predicti...