How effective are PET/CT scans?
Clinical research has shown that in comparison to a PET scan alone, PET/CT technology provides new information that can alter a patient's treatment plan to better target the cancer in about one-third of the cases. In one example, the PET/CT scan of a lung cancer patient revealed not only the original tumor on the lung - which a previous CT scan had found - but an additional tumor the CT missed: a small, early stage lesion in the neck. Based on the CT alone, the physician would have recommended surgery, but the additional tumor found by PET/CT indicated that the cancer had spread and was inoperable. Based on this information, the physician proceeded with radiation therapy, giving the patient a better chance of survival.