155. Locoregional lymph node involvement on 18F-FDG PET/CT and estimation of risk for locoregional recurrence in stage II–III breast cancer patients

Abstract

Background: Risk for locoregional recurrence (LRR) in breast cancer depends on tumor size and the number and location of tumor-positive locoregional nodes. Postoperative irradiation of chest wall and/or locoregional nodes is advised in patients at high risk for LRR, but remains controversial in patients at intermediate risk. Treatment with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) hinders risk estimation and radiotherapy planning even further, since conventional locoregional staging techniques are inaccurate and/or do not provide information on number of tumor-positive nodes.