FES PET/MRI for Occult Disease in Lobular Breast Cancer
Lobular Breast Carcinoma
What this study involves
The registry says this study is recruiting. Individual locations may have different availability.
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase 4
- Age range
- 18 years - Not specified
- Sex eligible
- Female
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Participants
- 30 Estimated
These are starting points, not an eligibility decision. The research team must review the full requirements.
About the research
The investigators hope to learn if lobular breast cancer can be identified using a special procedure called a positron emission tomography (PET) magnetic resonance image (MRI) scan, collectively a PET/MRI scan, that uses a radioactive imaging agent called Fluorine 18 fluoroestradiol (18F-FES). This procedure may be able to define the extent of disease more clearly than the standard of care breast imaging exams. 30 participants will be enrolled and be on study for up to 6 months.
Read the full description
This prospective study aims to estimate the added value of supplemental 18F-FES PET/MRI following standard-of-care (SOC) preoperative assessments for detecting occult disease in ILC. The investigators hypothesize that there is increased sensitivity of 18F-FES PET/MRI for detecting additional locoregional and distant site(s) of disease that is occult on SOC imaging.
Primary Objective: To estimate the increased sensitivity of 18F-FES PET/MRI for detecting disease that is occult on SOC imaging
Secondary Objectives: To characterize the
- Positive predictive value of additional pathology-confirm disease.
- Proportion of upstaging (composite T, N and M stages)
- Frequency of extensive breast disease (e.g., multifocal, multicentric or contralateral).
- Change in clinical management (e.g., changes in treatment intent, conversion to neoadjuvant therapy).
- Agreement of ILC tumor size between imaging exams (18F FES PET-MRI and SOC breast MRI, ultrasound and mammogram) and histopathologic exams.
- Error rate in size measurements between radiology and pathology for primary ILC.
- Change in surgical management (e.g., conversion to mastectomy).
Exploratory objectives: 1) To correlate 18F-FES standardized uptake value of SUVmax with immunohistochemical quantification of ER expression and ILC cellularity. 2) To define an 18F-FES SUVmax threshold for pathology-confirmed ER-positive ILC.
Who may be able to participate?
The list below is the sponsor’s full registry wording. It can include conditions, prior treatment, test results and other requirements. A match in search does not mean you qualify.
Inclusion Criteria:
- Adults assigned female sex at birth
- Newly diagnosed ILC confirmed on core-needle biopsy (greater than or equal to 1 percent ER staining per American Society of Clinical Oncology/College of American Pathologists (ASCO/CAP) guidelines)
- have undergone or will undergo standard-of-care (SOC) clinical and imaging assessments (e.g., mammography, ultrasound, breast MRI)
- planning for mastectomy or breast-conserving surgery within 12 months of their initial diagnosis
- Provision of signed and dated informed consent form
Exclusion Criteria:
- Patients with history of ipsilateral axillary lymph node dissection
- Patients who received anti-estrogen therapy such as selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD, e.g., fulvestrant, elacestrant) in the last 28 weeks or selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM, e.g., tamoxifen, raloxifene) in the last 8 weeks.
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding
- Patients with known allergic or hypersensitivity reactions to previously administered GBCAs or related drug.
- Patients with a contraindication to MRI, or who cannot be positioned within the scanner because their body weight or diameter exceeds the scanner limits.
- Patients requiring intravenous (IV) conscious sedation for imaging are not eligible; patients requiring mild, oral anxiolytics for the clinical MRI will be allowed to participate as long as the following criteria are met:
1. The subject has their own prescription for the medication
2. The informed consent process is conducted prior to the self-administration of this medication
3. They come to the research visit with a driver
* Concurrent participation in another clinical study that, in the judgment of the PI, would interfere with study procedures, endpoint assessment, interpretation of imaging findings, or participant safety.
Treatment, groups and participation
The registry may describe treatments and study duration without a complete visit calendar. Ask the study team for the exact schedule, procedures, risks, costs and alternatives. Keep your usual care plan unless your treating clinician tells you otherwise.
- Assignment
- Not applicable
- Masking
- No masking
Participants with Lobular Breast Cancer
Participants will undergo FES PET/MRI imaging after SOC imaging, followed by SOC breast surgery / biopsy
Drug: 18Fluoroestradiol (18F-FES) · Device: MRI · Drug: Gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA)
18Fluoroestradiol (18F-FES) DRUG
- Dose: Approximately 6 millicuries (mCi) (222 megabecquerels (MBq)) ± 20%
- Administration: IV injection, contralateral to the primary tumor site
- Physical Half-life: \~110 minutes
- Mechanism: FES binds to estrogen receptors expressed on tumor cells, enabling visualization of ER-positive disease sites.
MRI DEVICE
Participant undergoes PET/MRI scan to image ER-positive disease sites
Gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA) DRUG
Administered during the MRI portion of the examination
What researchers are measuring
Outcome measures describe what is being studied. They are not proof that a treatment works.
Primary measures
Percent of Participants where Disease is Detected using 18F-FES-PET/MRI
Time frame: up to 6 months
The number of participants for which disease is detected using 18F-FES-PET/MRI compared to the number of samples identified with disease (histopathology) will be reported to estimate the sensitivity of 18F-FES-PET/MRI for detecting disease that is occult (hidden) on SOC imaging.
Secondary measures
Participant Level Positive Predictive Value (PPV)
Time frame: up to 6 months
Defined by histopathology as the reference standard. This is the odds of 18F-FES-PET/MRI imaging predicting disease.
Proportion of Participants Upstaged using a composite of the T, N, and M stages
Time frame: up to 6 months
A cancer is staged by describing the: the size of the Tumor, whether the cancer has spread to lymph Nodes, and whether the cancer has spread to other organs, or Metastasized (TNM staging). TNM upstaging is when a patient is discovered to have more advanced cancer than initially imaging.
Proportion of patients who are diagnosed with pathology-proven multifocal, multicentric or contralateral disease
Time frame: up to 6 months
The proportion of patients who are diagnosed with pathology-proven multifocal, multicentric or contralateral disease will be measured to characterize the frequency of the detection of extensive breast involvement by 18F-FES-PET/MRI.
Percent of participants where 18F-FES-PET/MRI changed clinical care compared to SOC image
Time frame: up to 6 months
The following will be reviewed: frequency of changes in treatment intent from curative to palliative after detecting occult metastatic disease; conversion to neoadjuvant therapy after detecting occult locally advanced disease; and changes in axillary surgery from sentinel lymph node biopsy to targeted axillary dissection or complete axillary lymph node dissection after detecting occult axillary metastases in order to characterize the clinical impact of 18F-FES-PET/MRI on treatment decision.
Lesion-level agreement of the maximal tumor dimension
Time frame: up to 6 months
The lesion-level agreement of the maximal tumor dimension for the indexed ILC lesion, comparing imaging measurements with pathology measurements among patients who underwent definitive surgery will be reported to characterize the agreement of ILC tumor size between imaging exams (18F FES PET-MRI and SOC breast MRI, ultrasound and mammogram) and histopathologic exams.
Lesion-level error rate in maximal tumor dimension
Time frame: up to 6 months
The lesion-level error rate in maximal tumor dimension using pre-specified relative threshold of less than or equal to 25 percent difference between imaging and pathology measurements will be reported to characterize the error rate in size measurements between radiology and pathology for primary ILC.
Percent of participants where 18F-FES-PET/MRI changed surgical planning
Time frame: up to 6 months
The frequency of changed surgical planning (conversion from planned lumpectomy to mastectomy due to extensive breast involvement; margin re-excision in those undergoing lumpectomy; conversion to mastectomy in those initially managed with lumpectomy) will be reported to characterize the clinical impact of 18F-FES-PET/MRI on surgical planning.
Review the complete result tables and limitations in the official record.
Open official results ↗Research locations (1)
The overall study status and a local site’s status can differ. Confirm that location’s availability before traveling.
1 locations
UW Carbone Cancer CenterMadison, Wisconsin, United StatesRecruiting
Study team and timeline
- Lead sponsor
- University of Wisconsin, Madison
- Study start
- 2026-11 Estimated
- Primary completion
- 2028-11 Estimated
- Study completion
- 2028-11 Estimated
- First posted
- Nov 2, 2026 Actual
- Last updated
- Nov 10, 2026 Actual
Official study contacts
Official study title
A Diagnostic Accuracy Study of FES PET/MRI for the Detection of Occult Disease in Lobular Breast Cancer
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Source: ClinicalTrials.gov API v2. Information is submitted by sponsors and investigators. NLM does not approve the safety or science of all listed studies. Registry disclaimer.
Retrieved: Nov 12, 2026 · Last registry update: Nov 10, 2026
