What Is The Role In Diagnosing Cancer?

Cancer is one of the major causes of death worldwide.  P.E.T. reveals metastatic disease other imaging techniques simply can't detect.  P.E.T. can detect a tumor, determine whether the tumor is malignant or benign and determine whether or not treatment is working.  7.4 million Americans have a history of cancer and 1.3 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed this year.  Peer-reviewed literature supports, and clinical data demonstrates, that P.E.T. is effective in the diagnosis and staging of most cancers. The accuracy of P.E.T. in detecting and staging of cancers s summarized in the table shown.

Once surgery has been performed, P.E.T. can determine whether the cancer was actually removed completely. This can be key in determining what the next steps in treatment should be. Once chemotherapy has begun, P.E.T. can help to identify whether the treatment is working or not by identifying changes. A reduction in glucose uptake values after two cycles of chemotherapy suggests a response whereas no change, heralds the possibility of ineffective chemotherapy or tumor resistance.

One P.E.T. scan can often provide significantly more information than multiple CT scans or MRls; earlier detection can lead to a less extended treatment time and a higher cure rate. Chemotherapy regimens that are not working can be identified and revised more quickly.

What Is The Role Of P.E.T. In Diagnosing Heart Disease?

P.E.T. is the most accurate test to reveal coronary disease or rule out its presence. The P.E.T. images show inadequate blood flow to the heart during stress undetected by other non-invasive cardiac tests.  In addition, P.E.T. is the gold standard to determine the viability of heart tissue for revascularization.  It can distinguish between myocardial scar tissue following a heart attack and living or viable myocardium. Through a P.E.T. study, a patient experiencing markedly reduced blood flow to a large area of the heart, but with metabolism maintained, is a good bypass candidate because metabolism indicates that the tissue is still alive. However, when metabolism is absent, the tissue is dead and bypass surgery would not improve the function of the heart. 

 Use of P.E.T. scans can reduce unnecessary bypass surgeries by selecting only those patients most likely to benefit from the procedure.

Cancer Type	Diagnostic Accuracy
Mestastatic Thyroid	100%
Lymphoma	97%
Colorectal Cancer	94%
Solitary Pulmonary Nodule	94%
Muscular-Sketetal	93%
Breast Cancer	92%
Pancreatic	92%
Head And Neck Cancers	92%
Lung Cancer	91%
Melanoma	88%
Ovarian Cancer	81%

What Is The Role Of P.E.T. In Diagnosing Brain Disorders?

Alzheimer's Disease - By examining the metabolic function of the brain, P.E.T. can detect the presence of Alzheimer's disease two to five years before the diagnosis can be made clinically. Studies have shown that patients whose disease is caught this early can be placed on a regimen of anti-Alzheimer's drugs. This can stabilize and delay patient decline and significantly improve memory and other cognitive functions. Billions of dollars of savings in long term care as well as greatly improved quality of life for the patient and caregiver.
Epilepsy - P.E.T. images of the brain identify regions of reduced metabolism, pinpointing the epileptogenic tissue. Surgical techniques are now available to successfully remove the tissue, leading to a definitive cure of the seizure disorder in 80% of children studied. Reduction in the drugs necessary to control seizures, reduction in emergency room visits.
Parkinson's Disease - P.E.T. can be used to diagnose or eliminate Parkinson's as the cause of muscle tremors. P.E.T. images of the brain will show if a patient has Parkinson's disease. A labeled amino acid called F-DOPA is used with P.E.T. to determine if the brain has a deficiency in dopamine synthesis. Such a deficiency leads to a Parkinson's diagnosis; if this deficiency is not present, Parkinson's can be conclusively ruled out. Implications for the Insurance Industry - Ability to conclusively diagnose or rule out Parkinson's through one scan.
Other - Pick's disease, Huntington's disease and Vascular Dementia are other brain disorders which can be diagnosed via P.E.T.

Research in P.E.T.