PET/CT shows clear advantages over conventional staging ...

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cp418
cp418 Member Posts: 7,079
edited June 2014 in Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results

http://www.sciencecodex.com/petct_shows_clear_advantages_over_conventional_staging_for_breast_cancer_patients-104542

PET/CT shows clear advantages over conventional staging for breast cancer patients

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  • CherylinOhio
    CherylinOhio Member Posts: 623
    edited January 2013

    3rd paragraph: "The prognosis of patients with locally advanced breast cancer remains poor".  Well that just ruined my day,....

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  • luckypenny
    luckypenny Member Posts: 150
    edited January 2013

    Me too Cheryl....  Now I am paranoid that the two ct's and bone scans and 3 chest xrays I have had weren't enough, and that surely I have mets lurking.   I guess I was starting to believe that maybe I can outrun this..

    Sometimes , I need to resist the urge to surf the web..

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited January 2013

    So the article is saying that the PET imaging showed 15 more cases of metastases (out of 117 locally advanced patients) that the conventional imaging missed?  That is pretty significant.

    Pardon my ignorance.  What is "locally advanced" exactly?  I'm assuming a certain amount of nodal involvement, and/or tumor has gone into the surrounding tissue of the breast?

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  • kathleen1966
    kathleen1966 Member Posts: 793
    edited January 2013

    Yes, you are correct. locally advanced is a stage III cancer that has gone to the nodes. Stage I and II are considered early stage. And if you are in stage III with a tumor over 5cm with no nodes you are also considered early stage.  But if you have four or more nodes you are considered stage III locally advanced.

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  • jenrio
    jenrio Member Posts: 558
    edited January 2013

    Locally advanced = IBC or large tumors/multifocal tumors or more node positive ones.

    This information is long known, they just add more data.   PET is best for stage III patients.   I'd not even bother with others if I'm stage III.  

    Rightnow i'm wondering whether i should get PET even if i'm stage II.  

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  • Outfield
    Outfield Member Posts: 1,109
    edited January 2013

    Me too Cheryl.  Reading things like that sometimes seems like a curse, and my emotional gut reaction is "Why'd they have to say that!"  But then I remind myself, "That didn't change what has gone on and will go on in my body."  And it won't.  My cancer was also locally advanced, I hate to see those words, but the words don't change my prognosis and I will just keep on doing every damn thing I can do to reduce my risk of recurrence.  

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