An Overview on Positron Emission Mammography in Breast Cancer Detection and Follow up: Particular Concerns in Iranas a Developing Country

Generally, about 2 million new patients withbreast cancer are diagnosed annually.1 Breast canceris the most prevalent cancer among females and itcauses a considerable burden on both patients andhealth system.2 The screening and diagnosticprocedures including staging, restaging, andevaluating the response to treatment are costly. Yet,the need for rapid detection and diagnosis of thetumor and its recurrence pushes the imagingmethods to the edge of science for incrementalaccuracy. The currently available breast imagingmethods cover most encountered clinical needs, butcertain areas may still be in need of increasingaccuracy and preciseness. The possible clinical useof positron emission mammography (PEM) wasreviewed in the current study and cons and pros aswell as indications for clinical use were comparedwith other imaging modalities. Clinical indicationsfor any imaging of breast can be purified into 5categories: screening, diagnosis and staging,restaging, evaluating the response to treatment, anddirecting the biopsy tools.2 The advantages anddrawbacks of routine available breast imaging areroughly addressed in the following lines for everyavailable tool.