PET scans underused in some cancers

NEW YORK, Nov 8, 2005 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A recent New York City study says the use of PET scans with a radiotracer are underutilized in diagnosing and treating reproductive organ cancer.

The study conducted by Dr. Neeta Pandit-Taskar, a nuclear medicine physician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, says physicians are just beginning to see the potential of positron emission tomography scans using the radiotracer fluorodeoxyglucose to diagnose gynecologic disease of the cervix, uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, vagina and vulva and map its progression.

Pandit-Taskur said the use of use of PET imaging with FDG is having a great impact in determining the extent of spread of cancers of the reproductive system, especially when doctors obtain ambiguous results from other conventional imaging tests.

PET already plays an integral role in managing lymphoma, colorectal and lung cancers and is developing as a major tool in managing other cancers as well, said Pandit-Taskar, a member of the Society of Nuclear Medicine.

The study is detailed in the November issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

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