Lobular breast carcinomas are more challenging to detect through imaging than infiltrating ductal carcinomas, whether in mammography, ultrasound, MRI, or PET with 18F-FDG. Indeed, the 18F-FDG PET/CT often shows low contrast for the primary tumor. However, lobular cancers express more of the FAPα (Fibroblast Activation Protein α) than ductal carcinomas, making the use of 68Ga-FAPI PET promising for this indication.
The GALILEE project, led by Dr. Florent Hugonnet (Nuclear Medicine Department, Princess Grace Hospital Center, Monaco), aims to compare 68Ga-FAPI PET/CT with 18F-FDG PET/CT in the initial staging of lobular breast cancers. Through advanced analysis of PET images obtained with both radiotracers, we seek to establish a link between the extracted radiomic features and the histological characteristics of the lesions.