PET/CT scanning is used to benefit patients in three main areas of medicine: oncology, neurology and cardiology. While the most common use of PET/CT is to detect and assess cancer, the scanner may also be used in the diagnosis and monitoring of certain brain and cardiovascular disorders.
Cancer
PET/CT is used to help patients suffering from a variety of cancers, including but not limited to:
- Brain Tumors
- Breast Cancer – PET/CT is particularly effective for women with breast implants, young women and women with fibrous breasts, as PET/CT scanners can detect and locate tumors in very dense breast tissue, unlike more traditional diagnostic methods such as mammography.
- Cervical Cancer
- Colorectal Cancer
- Esophageal Cancer
- Head and Neck Cancer
- Lung Cancer
- Lymphoma
- Melanoma
- Ovarian Cancer
Brain Disorders
Among the different brain disorders served by PET/CT are Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, mental illness and brain tumors. As with cancer, PET/CT can detect abnormalities in the brain early on, even before symptoms occur, which could lead to more effective treatments and, for conditions like Alzheimer's, stave off symptoms for a longer amount of time.
