Correlation between 18F-FDG uptake on PET/CT and prognostic factors in triple-negative breast cancer

Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a correlation exists between 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake and prognostic factors in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Methods Between January 2009 and December 2013, 103 patients (mean age, 50.6 years) with primary TNBC (mean, 2.6 cm; range, 1.0–6.5 cm) underwent 18 F-FDG PET/CT for initial staging. Correlations between maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max ) on PET/CT and prognostic factors including tumour size, nodal status, histological grade, Ki-67 proliferation index, tumour suppressor p53, and ‘basal-like’ markers (epidermal growth factor receptor and CK 5/6) were assessed. Results The mean SUV max of the 103 tumours was 10.94 ± 5.25 (range: 2–32.8). There was a positive correlation between SUV max and Ki-67 (Spearman’s rho = 0.29, P = 0.003) and tumour size (Spearman’s rho = 0.27, P = 0.006), whereas this relationship was not observed in the nodal status, histological grade, p53 status and ‘basal-like’ phenotypes. In a multivariate regression analysis, Ki-67 ( P