Dear Molecular Imaging Insider,
FDG-PET/CT has been a mainstay for years to assess various forms of cancer. Now a new study suggests the modality could be helpful in calculating the risk of developing interval metastasis during neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for esophageal cancer.
In addition, that information could lead to other more appropriate restaging and possibly the use of other modalities to enhance patient care. Read more about the findings.
Speaking of FDG-PET/CT, providing knowledge about what to expect from an upcoming scan can go a long way toward helping patients relax and improve their experience. When Swedish researchers gave patients a web-based tutorial ahead of time, they found that most felt their PET/CT experience was easier than expected.
Strong language will likely get anyone's attention. It is particularly helpful in follow-up recommendations in FDG-PET/CT reports sent to referring physicians. Researchers from the radiology department at University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands found that strongly worded recommendations for follow-up radiological or nonradiological exams significantly increased the rate by which referring physicians adhered to the advice.
PET scans with the radiotracer F-18 fluorothymidine (FLT) can help determine which glioblastoma patients have the best chance for longer survival. More specifically, changes in standardized uptake values (SUVs) on PET scans performed four weeks after the completion of chemoradiotherapy indicated which patients were trending toward improved survival.
In the realm of extremity imaging comes a study from the U.K. that indicates carbon-11 (C-11) PET that targets translocator protein (TSPO) expression in the joint lining tissue of the knee may be a better way to determine the extent of rheumatoid arthritis. U.K. researchers used the TSPO radioligand C-11 PBR28 to image macrophage infiltration. Because TSPO is highly expressed on activated macrophages or immune cells responding to inflammation, sites where TSPO was expressed showed significantly greater signal on PET imaging of inflammation due to rheumatoid arthritis.
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