Combo scans find cancers more accurately

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Jul 26, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- A highly powerful scanner combining two state-of-the-art technologies might detect the spread of head and neck cancer more accurately than other imaging.

Researchers say combining computed tomography and positron emission tomography might be more effective than other widely used imaging examinations.

The findings are based on research conducted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine,

"PET/CT is very helpful in determining where we should pinpoint our biopsies for recurrent disease," said Dr. Carol Shores, assistant professor of otolaryngology at UNC and the report's senior author. "We can pick up cancer where we thought none existed.

"The new scans are so precise that, in some cases, cancer had been detected that probably would not have been through any other noninvasive imaging exam," she added

The study is detailed in the July issue of medical journal The Laryngoscope.