Assessing Oxygenation Response to Eribulin in a Patient with RecurrentBreast Cancer after Resistance to Endocrine Therapy

Abstract

We present our initial experience with a novel method of functional hypoxia imaging. 18F-fluoromisonidazole-positron emission tomography/computed tomography and diffuse optical spectroscopic imaging were used to noninvasively evaluate the biological effects induced by eribulin monotherapy in a patient treated for recurrent breast cancer with acquired resistance to endocrine therapy. Eribulin monotherapy clearly induced reoxygenation, indicated by the markedly reduced 18F-fluoromisonidazole uptake and enhanced oxygen saturation levels in the lesion. These observations suggest that the reversal of hypoxia can be captured utilizing 18F-fluoromisonidazole positron emission tomography/computed tomography and diffuse optical spectroscopic imaging.