|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Male Breast Cancer
Study Background:
A 82 y.o. male presented with a swollen lymph node in the left axilla. The lymph node was biopsied indicating metastatic carcinoma. PET scanning was ordered to determine the source of primary cancer. In addition to multiple left axillary lymph node involvement, the scan demonstrated a lesion in the left breast. This was an unusual find since male breast cancer is relatively rare affecting only about 1400 men per year in the United States.
PET Imaging:
Following the injection of 578 MBq of FDG, images of the head, neck, and torso were acquired with the GE Advance (7 minute emission, 3 minute transmission). Data were reconstructed using an OSEM algorithm and segmented attenuation correction. The PET study demonstrated marked increased metabolic activity in the left axillary lymph node chain as well as an area of increased uptake in the left breast adjacent to the nipple. An ultrasound and subsequent biopsy confirmed ductal carcinoma.
Male Breast Cancer:
Male breast cancer is relatively rare, affecting 1400 men in 1995 according to American Cancer Society estimates. In that same year, 240 men died of breast cancer, accounting for 0.5% of all breast cancer deaths and 0.08% of cancer deaths among men. The most common form of breast cancer in men is infiltrating ductal carcinoma, which accounts for 73% of the breast cancers in men with the areola being the most common site of occurrence. Nearly half of men who present with breast cancer have palpable axillary lymph nodes. Breast cancer risk in men increases with age, with the average age of diagnosis being 65 years of age. Breast cancer in men is often accompanied by abnormal estrogen hormone levels and has been associated with Klinefelter’s Syndrome.
Images courtesy of:
Lake Hospital Systems, Willoughby OH and
neo•pet, LLC, Oakwood OH
|
|
|
|
|
|
