{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T11:13:00Z","timestamp":1788952380305,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788912000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Pathological complete response (pCR) following neoadjuvant systemic therapy (NST) is associated with improved outcomes in breast cancer. We evaluated the association between PET\/CT-derived metabolic parameters and pCR and explored whether these associations differed according to molecular subtype. Methods: This retrospective study included 162 patients with stage II\u2013III breast cancer who received NST followed by surgery and underwent 18F-FDG PET\/CT at baseline and after completion of NST before surgery. Baseline SUVmax, post-treatment SUVmax, and percentage change in SUVmax (\u0394SUVmax) were assessed for the primary tumor and axillary lymph nodes. Multivariable logistic regression and model performance analyses were performed. Results: Sixty-three patients (38.9%) achieved pCR. Higher \u0394Primary Tumor SUVmax and lower post-treatment primary tumor SUVmax were independently associated with pCR in separate multivariable models. The corresponding model AUCs were 0.837 and 0.848. Addition of PET-derived parameters to clinical-only models increased the AUC by 0.101 and 0.132, respectively (DeLong p = 0.001 and p &lt; 0.001). No significant interaction was observed between \u0394Primary Tumor SUVmax and molecular subtype; in exploratory subgroup analyses, the association reached statistical significance in the HER2-positive subgroup only. Conclusions: PET\/CT-derived metabolic parameters were independently associated with pCR and provided additional discriminatory information beyond clinicopathological factors. No significant interaction with molecular subtype was observed.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics16182909","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T10:19:16Z","timestamp":1788949156000},"page":"2909","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Association of PET\/CT-Derived Metabolic Parameters with Pathological Complete Response After Neoadjuvant Systemic Therapy in Breast Cancer: An Analysis Across Molecular Subtypes"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2645-0785","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zeliha","family":"Birsin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Cerrahpa\u015fa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrahpa\u015fa, Istanbul 34098, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mehmet Taner","family":"Bodur","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cerrahpa\u015fa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrahpa\u015fa, Istanbul 34098, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1758-2321","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Selin","family":"Cebeci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Cerrahpa\u015fa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrahpa\u015fa, Istanbul 34098, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6594-1712","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Seda","family":"Jeral Evin\u00e7","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Cerrahpa\u015fa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrahpa\u015fa, Istanbul 34098, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ebru","family":"\u00c7i\u00e7ek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Cerrahpa\u015fa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrahpa\u015fa, Istanbul 34098, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nebi Serkan","family":"Demirci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Cerrahpa\u015fa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrahpa\u015fa, Istanbul 34098, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Onur Erdem","family":"\u015eahin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cerrahpa\u015fa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrahpa\u015fa, Istanbul 34098, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6635-2012","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"\u00d6zkan","family":"Alan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Cerrahpa\u015fa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrahpa\u015fa, Istanbul 34098, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"10","article-title":"Cancer statistics, 2025","volume":"75","author":"Siegel","year":"2025","journal-title":"CA Cancer J. 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