From The Physician's Perspective: What Can Be Known And When Can We Know It

Pet Facts
Helpful Clinical Applications of PET Studies
Questions PET Can Answer

From the patient's perspective: a walk-through of the process

PET Facts

• Traditionally, cancer imaging has been based on detection of masses. PET imaging of tumor physiology and function is a more sensitive and specific approach than CT or MRI.

• Areas of high-glucose activity usually reflect tumor growth.

• FDG may accumulate in areas of infection or inflammation. Patients should be referred for PET when they are free of these conditions.

• The reconstructed resolution on our PET scanner is 6mm. Smaller malignant lesions sometimes may not be detected, but PET is generally more sensitive than an MRI scan of the body.

• Fused or co-registered PET/CT or PET/MRI images can increase the accuracy of locating lesions.

Helpful Clinical Applications of PET Studies

• Determination of whether a solitary pulmonary nodule is malignant or benign

• Staging of non-small cell lung cancer

• iagnosis, staging and treatment monitoring of recurrent colorectal cancer, melanoma, esophageal cancer, head and neck cancer and lymphoma

• Detection and staging of most common cancers, except prostate cancer

• Determining if poorly perfused myocardium is viable or represents scar tissue

• Determining where a seizure focus is located in the brain

Questions PET Can Answer

• Is this mass malignant or benign?

• Is metastatic disease present?

• Are the metastases locoregional or distant?

• Is this patient a surgical candidate or should he/she be referred for chemotherapy or radiation therapy?

• Is the applied treatment protocol effective?

• Is a residual mass alive or dead?

• Is a part of the heart alive or dead?

From the patient's perspective: a walk-through of the process

• Obtaining a PET scan for your patient requires a phone call and a written requisition.

• PET Center mails confirmation letter with directions and answers to frequently asked questions within 24 hours.

• Patient arrives for appointment, having fasted for at least four hours.

• Physician takes a brief history.

• Patient receives an intravenous injection of 18F-FDG, a glucose analog.

• One hour after the injection, the scan begins.

• Scans last about 60 minutes.

• Patient may leave as soon as a nuclear medicine physician reviews the study, which is usually within a few minutes following the scan.