Oncology
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a non-invasive diagnostic imaging procedure that can provide unique information for accurate TNM staging. Many cancers exhibit increased glucose metabolic rates which can be identified with PET via the radio-pharmaceutical 18F-FDG. Since changes in glucose metabolism often occur before changes in anatomy (e.g. tumor growth), PET can often identify the presence of disease earlier than other anatomic imaging techniques. Early disease identification is particularly critical during the assessment of nodal involvement or the determination of the presence of metastatic disease.
PET technology is primarily used in treating the following types of cancer:
In general, the diagnostic accuracy of PET is superior to that of other complementary diagnostic exams.
|
Diagnostic Accuracy1
|
|
Cancer Type
|
Conventional Imaging
|
PET
|
|
Breast
|
67%
|
89%
|
|
Colorectal
|
80%
|
94%
|
|
Gastro-Esophageal
|
68%
|
83%
|
|
Head and Neck
|
65%
|
87%
|
|
Liver
|
81%
|
93%
|
|
Lung
|
68%
|
82%
|
|
Lymphoma
|
64%
|
88%
|
|
Melanoma
|
80%
|
91%
|
|
Pancreatic
|
65%
|
81%
|
|
Testicular
|
68%
|
92%
|
|
Uterine/Cervical
|
43%
|
87%
|
|
1Source: The Journal of Nuclear Medicine Supplement, Volume 42, Number 5, May 2001 and UCLA |
In addition, PET often demonstrates a higher sensitivity and specificity as compared to CT alone. Additional clinical references are available through the clinical reference library.
