• Patient Management Outcomes showed that:
     

    • PET can change staging of CA in 43% of cases*

    • PET leads to major changes in management decisions in 39%*

    • PET increases diagnostic understanding in 59%**

    • PET influenced therapy choice in 36%**

  • Most commonly used in oncology to detect and evaluate tumors:
    • FDG-PET is effective in the diagnosis and staging of the following cancers: brain tumor, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, head and neck cancer, lung cancer, lymphoma, melanoma, musculoskeletal tumors, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, and thyroid cancer.
    • Approved indications for whole-body 18F-FDG PET scans

      • solitary pulmonary nodule  

      • completion staging and restaging NSCLC (non-small cell lung cancer) 
         

      • staging and restaging-  

        • esophageal ca

        • colon cancer

        • melanoma

        • lymphoma

        • head and neck ca

      • restaging and monitoring advanced breast ca  

      • follicular thyroid ca post Rx

      • initial staging cervical ca

    • Awaiting Medicare Approval for whole-body 18F-FDG PET scans:

       

      • pancreatic ca  

      • hepatoma  

      • ovarian ca  

      • testicular ca  

      • thyroid ca  

      • brain tumor  

      • bladder ca  

      • sarcoma
  • Useful in cardiology to assess myocardial viability
    Approved indications for cardiac 18F-FDG PET scans:

    • Cardiology enables physicians to:

      • screen for coronary artery disease
      • assess flow rates and flow reserve
      • distinguish viable from nonviable myocardium for bypass and transplant candidates.

    • CPT CODE Indication

      78459 Cardiac metabolism
      78499 Cardiac perfusion
      78990 Radiopharmaceutical

  • Also useful in the brain for diagnosis of a variety of neurological conditions
    Approved indications for cerebral     18F-FDG PET scans:

    • PET enables assessment of Alzheimer’s and other dementias, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s

    • Localizes epileptic foci for qualifying and identifying the site for surgical intervention

    • Permits characterization, grading, and assessment of possible brain tumor recurrence

    • CPT CODE Indication

      78608 Brain metabolism
      78609 Brain perfusion
      78990 Radiopharmaceutical

     *(seltzer et al: abstract #408 snm 6/99- questionaire sent to 99 referring physicians)
    **(comens et al: abstract #427 snm 6/99-questionaire before & after 153 PET scans)