8.05.2009

PET Can Help Guide Treatment Decisions For A Common Pediatric Cancer

A new study published in the August issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine shows that positron emission tomography (PET) is an important tool for depicting the extent of neuroblastoma in some patients, particularly for those in the early stages of the disease. Neuroblastoma accounts for six to ten percent of all childhood cancers in the United States and 15 percent of cancer deaths in children. Accurately identifying where in the body the disease is located and whether it is spreading is critical for choosing appropriate types of treatment, which can include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and-in the most advanced cases-a combination of all of these treatments along with bone marrow transplant or investigational therapies.

In recent years, 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) has been the main functional imaging agent used to assess the disease. Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET imaging of neuroblastoma is increasing, but questions remain regarding when and in which patients FDG PET imaging is most useful.

source: Medical News Today

1 comment:

raj said...

Nice blog to know things related to scanning..
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