| It is estimated that one in every three people will experience cancer in his or her lifetime. The earlier the disease is detected, the greater the likelihood of a cure. That�s why Sinai Hospital�s Department of Nuclear Medicine is now offering the PET/CT (positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography) imaging scan. By combining these two imaging technologies, doctors can diagnose and manage the disease more accurately and quickly than ever before.
The PET scan takes advantage of the fact that cancer cells burn sugar (glucose) at unusually high rates. Patients to be scanned are given an injection of radioactive glucose. The PET scan can then see� where the cancer is in the patient�s body and can
tell just how active or nonactive the disease is. The CT scan provides good detail of the inside of the body, but it doesn�t show which cells are active or how active they are.
This method can stop unnecessary surgeries,� said Stuart A. Rabinowitz, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Department of Nuclear Medicine at Sinai. Combining the anatomic information from the CT with the physiological data from the PET will give us the best of both worlds. For instance, the use of a PET/CT scan in a patient with lung cancer could alter the management and/or follow-up treatment in 30 to 40 percent of patients.�
By combining the two into a single scan and image, doctors are given the ability to identify the presence or extent of the disease and pinpoint where they should perform a follow-up biopsy, therapy or surgery. The single scan is also easier and more convenient for patients.
The PET/CT scan, which takes about 30 minutes to complete, has been proven to work best thus far with lung, breast, colorectal, lymphoma, melanoma, head and neck, esophageal, and thyroid cancers.
While the primary use of the PET/CT scan is for cancer right now, the scan is
also being used as a diagnostic tool in the early detection of Alzheimer�s disease and for diagnosing myocardial viability and for detecting coronary artery disease.
If you would like to find out more about PET/CT scans at Sinai Hospital, call 410-601-WELL.
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