Pre-operative Profiling of DCIS of the Breast Using PET Imaging

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Pre-operative Profiling of DCIS of the Breast Using PET Imaging

  • IRAS ID

    133365

  • Contact name

    Laura Kenny

  • Contact email

    l.kenny@imperial.ac.uk

  • Research summary

    The current risk prediction of future cancer for the pre-invasive form of breast cancer, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) are unsatisfactory and are mainly related to histological grade, size, and width of surgical margins. DCIS of the breast is a malignant,growth of cells growing which is confined to the duct but has not spread to the surrounding tissue of the breast. The future aggressiveness and the size of DCIS are difficult to determine pre-operatively using current imaging and laboratory methods. We propose image 12 patients newly diagnosed with DCIS to be imaged with PET scans for tumour growth (FLT) and glucose uptake (FDG) before surgery and compare our image findings with tissue markers of growth and tumour glucose uptake in the abnormal tissue removed at the time of surgery. Our previous work suggests that FLT uptake in breast cancer correlates with tumour grade and proliferation, both important prognostic features for deciding patient management. Tumour uptake of FDG and FLT is significantly higher in invasive breast tumours compared to normal tissue, but this relationship has yet to be shown for FLT in DCIS. The outcomes of this study will be used to generate initial data for a national study of DCIS. The lack of a reliable, well-defined predictive tool leads to increased treatment costs within the NHS for this disease which is being diagnosed with increased frequency due to the Breast Cancer Screening Programme, as patients frequently have to undergo multiple surgical procedures due to the finding of invasive cancer at the time of the first operation which was not detected previously.

  • REC name

    London - London Bridge Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    13/LO/1179

  • Date of REC Opinion

    14 Oct 2013

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion