A report from King Hussein Cancer Center(KHCC) in ASCO convention 2013 again, has proved that PET-CT scan has become a most valuable tool to greatly improve cancer treatment effect. Apart from early pathologic staging diagnosis of cancer, PET-CT is also used to evaluate post-treatment reaction and effect for further treatment instruction. For example, if a patient must to have radical treatment or palliative treatment, or how to make radiotherapy more focus on lesions.
Related tests had done from Jan. 2010 to Jun.2012 by studying 40 gynecologic tumor cases in KHCC(23 cervical cancer patients, 8 ovarian cancer patients and 9 endometrial cancer patients). These 40 patients were divided to 2 groups, in which the first was the patients who had taken the first general staging evaluation(15 patients) and the second was using PET-CT scan to evaluate their treatment reaction.
Lab. data indicated that 7.5%(3 patients) cases got worse condition, 32.5% had their symptoms relieved while the others were in stable physical status. Doctors had changed the radical treatment to palliative treatment for a patient, while chosen radical treatment for 8 patients who had confirmed no lymph node metastases. Besides, 20% (8 patients) were found of lymph differences between PET-CT scan and previous anatomic images that doctors had revised radiation spots and dose to reduce the unnecessary toxic side effects may occur.
Introduction from Dr. Dai Wenyan, Specialist of Modern Cancer Hospital Guangzhou
PET-CT scan technology can diagnose tumor early and confirm tumor stage before early symptoms are detected and anatomic proof comes out, even a tumor is smaller than 2mm can be detected. What is more, PET-CT can confirm recurrent tumors, primary tumor and metastases to better provide instructions to radiotherapy and inspection of treatment effect.
The principles of PET-CT scan is after radiotracer injection, PET-CT scan can construct the images of radiotracer distribution to well picture the biochemical processes of disease.
With greater prediction and treatment processing information than PET or CT scan alone, PET-CT scan goes far beyond the current fields PET or CT scan covers that it has all the functions of CT scan while can finish general CT scan in 20 minutes, but gets the efficiency of 60% higher than PET scan. It can more specifically and rapidly provide the functional images of cardiac muscles and cerebral blood flow than CT scan.
Some patients had changed their treatments through the specific diagnosis of PET-CT scan after introduced PET-CT to Modern Cancer Hospital Guangzhou, Dr. Dai figured out that. PET-CT scan can accurately evaluate treatment effect to adjust treatments and choose medicine so as to avoid ineffective treatments. It greatly and generally has cut down medical costs and gains the treasure time for patient’s treatments. ASCO studies, and more and more clinical cases will proof the potent of PET-CT scan technology and will more patients benefit from it.
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