Positron emission mammography (PEM) is anuclear medicine imaging modality used to detect or characterisebreast cancer.[1]Mammography typically refers tox-ray imaging of the breast, while PEM uses an injectedpositron emittingisotope and a dedicated scanner to locate breast tumors.Scintimammography is another nuclear medicine breast imaging technique, however it is performed using agamma camera. Breasts can be imaged on standard whole-body PET scanners, however dedicated PEM scanners offer advantages including improvedresolution.[2][3]
A commercial PEM system with 64-ring detectors. It is designed forprone imaging, so that the breasts hang freely in the detector, through an opening.
PEM uses a specialised scanning system. Though some systems resemble a small PET scanner with a ring of detectors, others consist of a pair of gamma radiation detectors placed above and below the breast.[citation needed] On these systems, mild breast compression is applied to spread the breast and reduce its thickness. The detection process is identical to standard PET scanners. Positrons emitted by the injected18F-FDGannihilate on interaction withelectrons in tissue, leading to the emission of a pair ofphotons travelling inopposite directions. The detection of two simultaneous photons indicates the emission of a positron at a point on the line linking the two detection events. An image is thereconstructed from the collected emission data.[9][10]
Mammography using positron emitters was first proposed in 1994.[11] PEM is now approved in theUnited States and Europe for post-diagnosis imaging, with multiple commercial systems available.[12][13]
^Marino, Maria Adele; Helbich, Thomas H.; Blandino, Alfredo; Pinker, Katja (9 June 2015). "The role of positron emission tomography in breast cancer: a short review".Memo - Magazine of European Medical Oncology.8 (2):130–135.doi:10.1007/s12254-015-0210-z.S2CID68723912.
^Kalles, Vasileios; Zografos, George C.; Provatopoulou, Xeni; Koulocheri, Dimitra; Gounaris, Antonia (13 December 2012). "The current status of positron emission mammography in breast cancer diagnosis".Breast Cancer.20 (2):123–130.doi:10.1007/s12282-012-0433-3.PMID23239242.S2CID42928316.
^Fletcher, J. W.; Djulbegovic, B.; Soares, H. P.; Siegel, B. A.; Lowe, V. J.; Lyman, G. H.; Coleman, R. E.; Wahl, R.; Paschold, J. C.; Avril, N.; Einhorn, L. H.; Suh, W. W.; Samson, D.; Delbeke, D.; Gorman, M.; Shields, A. F. (20 February 2008)."Recommendations on the Use of 18F-FDG PET in Oncology".Journal of Nuclear Medicine.49 (3):480–508.doi:10.2967/jnumed.107.047787.PMID18287273.
^Cintolo, Jessica Anna; Tchou, Julia; Pryma, Daniel A. (16 March 2013). "Diagnostic and prognostic application of positron emission tomography in breast imaging: emerging uses and the role of PET in monitoring treatment response".Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.138 (2):331–346.doi:10.1007/s10549-013-2451-z.PMID23504108.S2CID21975083.
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This article incorporatespublic domain material fromDictionary of Cancer Terms.U.S. National Cancer Institute.