Purpose: To assess the potential added value of the SPECT-CT quantitative analysis in metastatic breast cancer lesions detection and differentiation from degenerative lesions.
Methods: This prospective monocentric study was conducted on 70 female patients who underwent SPECT-CT bone scans using 99mTc-HDP that identified the presence of metastatic bone lesions and degenerative lesions in each patient. Once the lesions were identified, a quantitative analysis of radiotracer uptake was conducted. The highest one to five SUVmax values for both metastatic and degenerative bone lesions were identified in each patient and the data were then statistically analyzed.
Results: The SUVmax value was significantly higher in metastatic bone lesions than in degenerative lesions (p < 0.001). The diagnostic accuracy of SPECT-CT quantitative data analysis revealed a sensitivity of 91.5% and a specificity of 93.3% at a cut-off value of the SUVmax of 16.6 g/mL.
Conclusion: Quantitative analysis performed using SPECT-CT data can improve the diagnostic accuracy in differentiating between metastatic bone lesions and degenerative lesions, thus leading to appropriate treatment and better follow-up in metastatic breast cancer patients.
Keywords: SPECT-CT; SUVmax; bone degenerative lesions; bone metastatic lesions; quantitative analysis.