Positron Emission Tomography (PET) in Diagnosing/Staging Cancer
PET Imaging has become an indispensable tool in fighting many types of cancer, such as colon cancer, lung cancer, and lymphoma. By measuring subtle changes in metabolism in the body's cells, this revolutionary imaging technology can improve patient treatment by detecting small cancer tumors that other tests would miss. For many cancers, PET also saves money by guiding physicians to more effective treatment options and eliminating unnecessary surgical treatments and biopsies.
Lung Cancer: More than 164,000 Americans were diagnosed with lung cancer in 2000, according to the American Cancer Society. Last year, about 157,000 patients died from the disease. Several studies have shown that with PET imaging, physicians can detect an additional 10 percent of patients with tumors that have spread to other sites and were missed with other imaging techniques. In addition, using PET can save $1,154 per lung cancer patient through more accurate diagnosis.
Colorectal cancer: The third most common form of cancer, with almost 94,000 new cases diagnosed last year. In one study, PET detected unsuspected cancer tumors that had spread to other areas of the body in 28 percent of colon cancer patients. Data also show that health care providers can save $3,760 each time they use PET by eliminating the need for other test and avoiding unnecessary surgery for colon cancer.
Head and Neck Cancer: According to study entitled "Health and Health Care 2010" by the Institute for the Future (of the RWJ Foundation), PET has displayed accuracy of more than 95 percent in detecting recurrent cancer of the head and neck, which is an extremely difficult area to image with existing technology. The report said that within the next decade, tumor-specific marker molecules will be labeled with positron emitters to provide more specificity, "at which point whole-body PET scanning will be faster, less expensive, more widely available, and the most accurate and rapid means of detecting cancer that has spread beyond the primary site or has recurred."
Avoiding Surgery: An analysis performed by the Academy of Molecular Imaging found PET is better at identifying patients who are not good candidates for surgical treatment. For each unnecessary surgery that is avoided, PET can save between $5,400 and $32,000, according to the analysis.
Payment by Insurers: Private health plans began covering PET for indications such as lung cancer and head and neck cancer in the early 1990s. Today more than 500 health plans provide reimbursement for a wide range of cancers, including breast and ovarian cancer.
|