Glucose utilization by visceral adipose tissue (VAT) reflects inflammatory activity, which also promotes
tumor growth and
carcinogenesis. The effect of metabolically active VAT on survival outcomes in
breast cancer is unknown. We investigated survival outcomes in patients with
breast cancer based on the standardized uptake value (SUV) of VAT (SUVmean-VAT) using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT). A total of 148 patients with
breast cancer were divided into high- and low groups according to their SUVmean-VAT and SUVmax-
tumor. Clinical characteristics and survival outcomes were compared between the groups. High SUVmean-VAT was associated with poor recurrence-free survival (RFS; hazard ratio [HR], 2.754; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.090-6.958, p = 0.032) and distant
metastasis-free survival (DMFS; HR, 3.500; 95% CI, 1.224-10.01, p = 0.019). Multivariate analysis showed that high SUVmean-VAT was a significant factor for poor RFS and poor DMFS (p = 0.023 and 0.039, respectively). High SUVmax-
tumor was significantly associated with short RFS (p = 0.0388).
Tumors with a high SUV tended to have a short DMFS, although the difference was not significant (p = 0.0718). Our findings showed that upregulated
glucose metabolism in the VAT measured using
18F-FDG PET/CT may be a prognostic
biomarker for adverse outcomes in
breast cancer.