Important Links
PET/CT Imaging:
Positron Emission Tomography – PET/CT
Positron emission tomography (PET) and computerized tomography (CT) are both state-of-the-art imaging tools, which allow physicians to pinpoint the location of cancer within the body before making treatment recommendations. The highly sensitive PET scan demonstrates disorders at the molecular level, while the CT scan provides a detailed picture of the body’s internal anatomy. The PET/CT scan combines the strengths of these two well-established imaging modalities into a single scan. A PET scan is very different from an ultrasound, X-ray, MRI, or CT scan. A PET scan allows the physician to evaluate the metabolic activity of tissue. This can help differentiate benign from malignant tissue, help evaluate response of tumors to treatment, and can help evaluate tumor recurrence. Since a PET scan images the biology of disorders at the molecular level, it can help the physician detect abnormalities in cellular activity at a very early stage, frequently before anatomic changes are visible. Alone, each imaging test has particular benefits and limitations but by combining these two technologies, physicians can more accurately diagnose, localize and monitor cancer, as well as certain brain disorders.
PET Services:
18 FDG PET Scan
Fluorodeoxyglucose (18F) or FDG, is a radiopharmaceutical used in the medical imaging modality positron emission tomography (PET). Following the injection of 18F-FDG into a patient, a PET scan forms images of the distribution of FDG in the body. The images are then assessed by a nuclear medicine physician or radiologist to provide diagnoses of the medical condition which is present.
Source: Demetri GD, Benjamin RS, Blanke CD, et al.: NCCN Task Force report: management of patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST)–update of the NCCN clinical practice guidelines. J Natl Compr Canc Netw 5 (Suppl 2): S1-29; quiz S30, 2007. Wikipedia – Dictionary