Evaluating the efficacy of breast cancer treatments using PET-CT Imaging

Abstract

Positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) scans are used to detect and stage cancer and can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of treatments used for patients with different types of cancer. The current study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of treatments provided to breast cancer patients and the effect of treatment on the right and left breasts separately. A sample of (84) female left and right breast cancer patients were treated with radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy. The efficacy of the treatments was evaluated on 18 follow-up patients among the original sample who already underwent a PET-CT scan before starting their treatment. Treatment efficacy was evaluated by measuring the standard uptake value (SUV) of cancer lesions in patients before and after treatment. Results showed that 32.1% of the diagnosed lesions did not change their SUV values, 39.3% were treated, 27.4% were new lesions do not present in the original PET-CT scan, and 1.2% for lesions that increased the value of the SUV. Moreover, the results also showed that left breast cancer was more responsive to treatment than right breast cancer, while chemotherapy was more effective than radiation therapy. In summary, the efficacy of chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy for both right and left breast cancer patients was evaluated using PET-CT technology. Only one-third of the cancerous lesions were treated using the treatment methods described in this study. The research is unique in that it is the first in Palestine to investigate the feasibility and efficacy of the treatment delivered to breast cancer patients.