Diagnostic accuracy of modern imaging following neoadjuvant therapy for breast cancer: a comparative analysis of ultrasound versus [18F] FDG PET/MRI in breast response assessment - Summary - MDSpire

Diagnostic accuracy of modern imaging following neoadjuvant therapy for breast cancer: a comparative analysis of ultrasound versus [18F] FDG PET/MRI in breast response assessment

  • By

  • Rosa Di Micco

  • Selin Saracoglu

  • André Pfob

  • Carla Canevari

  • Francesca Gallivanone

  • Lidija Antunovic

  • Fabrizia Gelardi

  • Paola Scifo

  • Ilaria Neri

  • Claudio Losio

  • Elena Venturini

  • Giovanna Della Vecchia

  • Goffredo Ferrarese

  • Nicole Rotmensz

  • Veronica Zuber

  • Sara Baleri

  • Giovanni Cisternino

  • Silvia Paola Corona

  • Francesca Calabretto

  • Mario Rampa

  • Luca Licata

  • Giulia Viale

  • Stefania Zambelli

  • Isabella Sassi

  • Giampaolo Bianchini

  • Pietro Panizza

  • Arturo Chiti

  • Joerg Heil

  • Oreste Davide Gentilini

  • June 18, 2026

  • 0 min

Share

Objective:

To compare the diagnostic performance of ultrasound (US) and [18F]FDG PET/MRI in predicting pathological complete response (pCR) after primary systemic therapy (PST) in breast cancer.

Approach:
    Key Findings:
    • [18F]FDG PET/MRI sensitivity: 62% (95% CI 42%-81%), specificity: 67% (95% CI 46%-83%).
    • Ultrasound sensitivity: 59% (95% CI 44%-73%), specificity: 62% (95% CI 46%-77%).
    • No significant difference in sensitivity (p=0.93) or specificity (p=0.94) between [18F]FDG PET/MRI and US.
    • US sensitivity varied by tumor subtype: 73% in triple-negative tumors, 50% in HER2-positive tumors.
    • [18F]FDG PET/MRI sensitivity varied: 77% in Luminal B cancers.
    Interpretation:

    Both [18F]FDG PET/MRI and US demonstrated comparable diagnostic accuracy for assessing breast pCR following PST, with effectiveness varying across tumor subtypes.

    Limitations:
    • Study included a limited number of patients from two centers.
    • Retrospective data extraction may introduce bias.
    Conclusion:

    Further research should focus on multimodal imaging strategies integrated with clinical and molecular data.

Original Source(s)

Diagnostic accuracy of modern imaging following neoadjuvant therapy for breast cancer: a comparative analysis of ultrasound versus [18F] FDG PET/MRI in breast response assessment

  • by Rosa Di Micco, Selin Saracoglu, André Pfob, Carla Canevari, Francesca Gallivanone, Lidija Antunovic, Fabrizia Gelardi, Paola Scifo, Ilaria Neri, Claudio Losio, Elena Venturini, Giovanna Della Vecchia, Goffredo Ferrarese, Nicole Rotmensz, Veronica Zuber, Sara Baleri, Giovanni Cisternino, Silvia Paola Corona, Francesca Calabretto, Mario Rampa, Luca Licata, Giulia Viale, Stefania Zambelli, Isabella Sassi, Giampaolo Bianchini, Pietro Panizza, Arturo Chiti, Joerg Heil, Oreste Davide Gentilini

  • June 18, 2026

Related Content

2026 AACR Renal Cell Carcinoma Highlights

The Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute presents a succinct summary of all the renal cell carcinoma clinical updates you need to know from AACR 2026.

  • June 17, 2026

  • 1 min
Coencapsulation of doxorubicin and curcumin in liposomes modified with folic acid for reversal of drug resistance in glioma

The quiet joy of being an oncologist