Our purpose was to establish whether noninvasive measurement of changes in
18F-fluoride metabolic flux to bone mineral (K
i) by PET/CT can provide incremental value in response assessment of bone metastases in breast cancer compared with SUV
max and SUV
mean.
Methods
Twelve breast cancer patients starting endocrine treatment for de novo or progressive bone metastases were included. Static
18F-fluoride PET/CT scans were acquired 60 min after injection, before and 8 wk after commencing treatment. Venous blood samples were taken at 55 and 85 min after injection to measure plasma
18F-fluoride activity concentrations, and K
i in individual bone metastases was calculated using a previously validated method. Percentage changes in K
i, SUV
max, and SUV
mean were calculated from the same index lesions (≤5 lesions) from each patient. Clinical response up to 24 wk, assessed in consensus by 2 experienced oncologists masked to PET imaging findings, was used as a reference standard.
Results
Of the 4 patients with clinically progressive disease (PD), mean K
i significantly increased (>25%) in all, SUV
max in 3, and SUV
mean in 2. Of the 8 non-PD patients, K
i decreased or remained stable in 7, SUV
max in 5, and SUV
mean in 6. A significant mean percentage increase from baseline for K
i, compared with SUV
max and SUV
mean, occurred in the 4 patients with PD (89.7% vs. 41.8% and 43.5%, respectively;
P < 0.001).
Conclusion
After 8 wk of endocrine treatment for bone-predominant metastatic breast cancer, K
i more reliably differentiated PD from non-PD than did SUV
max and SUV
mean, probably because measurement of SUV underestimates fluoride clearance by not considering changes in input function.