New Study Shows Value of PET Scans When Colorectal Cancer Recurs

An Australian study has added to the evidence that positron-emission tomography (PET) scans can help doctors avoid futile localized surgery for some patients with recurrence of colorectal cancer.

The researchers from the University of Melbourne reported in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine on their study of 96 patients who were given PET scans for suspected or confirmed recurrence of colorectal cancer where CT scans had provided no evidence that the disease had spread beyond the liver.

The treatment plan for 54 of these 96 patients (56%) was altered as a direct result of unexpected PET findings, the researchers reported. Planned surgery was abandoned in 26 (60%) of 43 patients because of incremental PET findings, they said.

Some patients were switched from planned localized surgery to chemotherapy. In other cases, more intense radiation or more extensive surgery were indicated.

"The major benefit of PET is avoidance of inappropriate local therapies by documentation of widespread disease," lead author Dr. Rodney J. Hicks reported. "This prospective study confirms the high impact, suggested by previous retrospective analyses, of 18F-FDG PET on management of patients with suspected recurrent colorectal cancer."

Other sources: Journal of Nuclear Medicine