| Abstract: |
The recent development of hybrid positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) systems has created a promising tool in the management of patients with breast cancer. Hybrid PET/MR technology combines the metabolic information of PET with high resolution and soft tissue contrast of MRI into a single exam. Dynamic contrast enhanced MRI of the breast has been shown to be highly sensitive in the evaluation of primary breast cancers while PET/CT has been shown to provide important information regarding locoregional staging in women with locally advanced breast cancer and also in the setting of monitoring treatment response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Combining these exams into multiparametric breast imaging with breast PET/MRI is an exciting new diagnostic platform. Moreover, PET/MRI has recently been shown to perform as well as or better than PET/CT imaging in patients with breast cancer in assessing for distant metastases during initial staging and later surveillance. This chapter reviews the current state of multiparametric PET/MRI of the breast and of the whole body in breast cancer patients. In addition, we will briefly discuss breast molecular imaging techniques breast specific gamma imaging (BSGI) and positron emission mammography (PEM). © Springer International Publishing AG 2018. |
