PET has demonstrated its effectiveness in pathologies ranging from breast cancer to Alzheimer’s. In a new study, the modality has shown an ability to find unsuspected lesions other than the primary tumor for which the patient is being scanned.
That’s the conclusion of research by PET expert Dr. Harry Agress, Jr. of Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, NJ. In a story by staff editor Jonathan S. Batchelor that we're featuring in our Molecular Imaging Digital Community this week, Dr. Agress discusses the results of a 19-month study that examined 1,800 PET scans in 1,650 patients.
The goal was to evaluate the significance of unexpected hypermetabolic foci that was different from both normal uptake seen on PET studies, and from the pathology for which the patients were referred.
The group found a number of unexpected malignancies, the vast majority of which were present in patients who were completely asymptomatic relative to their unexpected findings.
The research could have important implications regarding the added value of PET as a whole-body scan, according to Agress. For the whole story, just go to http://molecular.auntminnie.com.
