September 2006

New PET/CT system at Cancer Care Center

Sharon Regional’s Cancer Care Center recently acquired a PET/CT system that combines the functional information from a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan with the anatomical information from a Computed Tomography (CT) scan into one single exam. For cancer patients, a PET/CT exam not only helps physicians diagnose a problem, it also helps predict the likely outcome of various therapeutic alternatives, pinpoints the best approach to treatment, and monitors a patient’s progress throughout treatment.

A PET exam detects changes in cellular function, and since these functional changes take place before physical changes occur, PET can provide information that enables physicians to make an early diagnosis. A CT scan uses a combination of x-rays and computers to give radiologists a non-invasive way to see inside the body. CT has the ability to rapidly acquire multiple two-dimensional image slices of the anatomy and through a computer, these 2-D images can be presented in 3-D for in-depth clinical evaluation. When these two scans are fused together, physicians can view metabolic changes in the proper anatomical context of the body.

“Sharon Regional is pleased to offer this advanced system to give our physicians the most current technology available to serve their patients,” says Barry Marchetto, M.D., chief radiologist, Medical Imaging. “The new PET/CT system is another great tool in our fight against cancer.”

PET/CT is an extremely accurate method to diagnose and stage cancer, check for tumor recurrence, and monitor cancer therapy. Information gained from the new system can be used to determine what combination of surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy is most likely to be successful in managing the disease.