Breast cancer is one of the most devastating diseases affecting women in Western countries. Although progress has been made in the development of new therapeutic agents, approximately 40,000 patients in the United States alone will die of breast cancer in 2005. The diagnosis of breast cancer—especially in the early stages—is challenging, and mammography
and ultrasound play an important role in screening asymptomatic women as well as in the initial workup of suspicious breast lesions. Positron emission tomography (PET) has become widely available in the United States, and this first issue of the PET Clinics is devoted to the current status and potential future applications of molecular PET imaging in breast cancer .
