Breast-specific gamma scans monitor chemo

Breast-specific gamma imaging is highly accurate in monitoring the response of breast cancers to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, according to a study presented at the American Society of Breast Surgeons' annual meeting in Las Vegas.

In their 12-subject study, George Washington University Hospital researchers found gamma imaging accurately establishes tumor size within 5 mm after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The pathologic size ranged from 2.6 cm to 2 mm postchemotherapy. In addition, the correlation coefficients are superior to those of other modalities, including physical exam, mammography, ultrasound, MRI, and FDG-PET, according to the authors.

The researchers compared gamma camera breast tumor images postchemotherapy with pathologic size at excision. They found the gamma imaging accurately reflected tumor size in all 12 patients.