Testimonials
Physicians Weigh In on PET/CT for Initial Patient Work-Up
PET/CT is gaining wide acceptance for use in the initial work-up of patients who have been newly diagnosed with cancer. The use of PET/CT for this indication is on the rise whether as a stand-alone, first-line imaging modality for initial staging or as a complement to conventional imaging modalities to establish pre-treatment size and SUV measurements. When asked “why”, this is what your physician colleagues said:
Oncologists
- “PET/CT usually upstages or downstages the patient relative to CT. It could make a surgical patient a chemotherapy patient or vice versa.”
- “I prefer the information from a single PET/CT rather than doing chest, abdomen and pelvic CTs and a bone scan.”
- “How do I know if it's a stage IV patient if I don't have a PET/CT scan? PET/CT scans upstage and downstage patients.”
- “You can't assess response if you don't have the accurate stage.”
- “How do I know if treatment is working if I don't have one to compare it to?”
- “I find the PET/CT to be a useful teaching tool for my patients.”
Surgeons
- “The maxSUV prior to treatment is more prognostically relevant than the TNM stage, and the PET/CT offers biopsy targets.” – Thoracic Surgeon
- “Whenever I begin the initial workup for a patient that is believed to have head and neck cancer, I always include a PET/CT. I believe PET/CT is an effective tool to help stage local, regional and distant disease, and having an accurate stage is essential in planning treatment.” - Head and Neck Surgeon
- “I stage any patient with a T2 lesion
or higher. Also, some of my patients need peace of mind, so
even if I don’t always need it clinically, it helps them.”
– Breast Surgeon
For up-to-date literature on PET/CT usage as a part of your initial work-up, please contact PET Imaging.
