Dear Molecular Imaging Insider,
Last week's 101st annual RSNA meeting as usual provided a wealth of informative research papers covering the entire spectrum of radiology. PET/MRI played a prominent role in a variety of applications, including cardiac imaging.
This edition of the Insider provides an exclusive first look at how PET/MRI can benefit patients suspected of having cardiac sarcoidosis. The hybrid modality correctly identified all positive cases, and while the study sample was small, the results are encouraging for the difficult-to-image inflammatory condition.
The ultimate benefit for patients would be less radiation exposure compared to PET/CT, as well as the potential for fewer imaging scans. Learn more in our Insider Exclusive.
RSNA 2015 attendees in Chicago also heard about FDG-PET/CT's aptitude for finding distant metastases in patients with stage III invasive ductal carcinoma. The findings from the study prompted researchers to suggest that the National Comprehensive Cancer Network add histology to its guidelines for determining the best method of staging.
In other news from the conference, utilization rates of noninvasive imaging in patients with suspected coronary artery disease have declined precipitously, with nuclear myocardial perfusion imaging experiencing a double-digit decline from its peak in 2006. The news was also not that great for stress echocardiography, but the researchers had some encouraging words for coronary CT angiography, which they contend is significantly underutilized.
Buoyed by a five-year, $15.5 million grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, a consortium of researchers has embarked on an ambitious trek to revolutionize PET imaging with the world's first total-body scanner. The Explorer project is designed to create a high-sensitivity PET device that would image an entire human body simultaneously.
The presence of lesions on FDG-PET/CT scans prior to stem cell transplantation can help predict survival for patients with aggressive lymphomas, according to researchers from New York City. They found that lymphoma patients who received stem cells donated from another person (known as allogeneic stem cell transplantation) were twice as likely to survive after two years if they didn't have FDG-avid lesions on their PET scans, compared with patients with PET-positive results.
Be sure to stay in touch with the Molecular Imaging Community on a daily basis for the latest news and research, and visit AuntMinnie.com for more RSNA 2015 coverage.
