About PET / CT inspection

About PET / CT inspection
PET inspection is a “positron emission tomography inspection”.
This is a test method in which a medicine that emits positron into the body is injected from the vein of the arm and the state of the medicine gathering on the body part is photographed with a special camera. We perform CT examination with the same posture. PET and CT are usually taken from around the ear to the base of the foot. In PET / CT system, these two images are created almost simultaneously and are superposed to obtain an image with higher diagnostic value.

What can be understood by PET / CT examination

The PET / CT examination performed at our hospital will inject a drug called fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) labeled with a radioisotope called fluorine-18 (18F). The presence of cancer can be known by collecting many drugs (FDG) in cancer cells that consume a lot of glucose. Compared to normal cells, cancer cells are said to require 3 to 8 times more glucose.
However, drugs are also collected in pneumonia and abscesses (when pus has accumulated), so it cannot be determined that cancer has collected.

Inspection features

Powerful for early detection of cancer
We create an image with a thin slice your body.The thinness is 3.3 mm, so I think that it can be detected even about 5 mm if the cancer is highly malignant. It is also very useful for diagnosis of cancer metastasis and recurrence.

Nearly whole body inspection possible at once
Until now, it was necessary to select an appropriate diagnostic method from CT, MRI, and scintigraphy depending on the body part (organ). However, PET / CT can check almost all cancers at once.

Useful to differentiate between benign and malignant
What is suspected to be cancer by CT etc. can be more accurately differentiated between benign and malignant by PET / CT. This is because the number of drugs used in PET / CT examinations can be evaluated numerically based on the number of lesions.

Inspection with less pain
This test is painful only when the medicine is injected, and the rest is an easy test that only requires sleeping. There is no need to drink barium or to take a camera like a stomach examination.

Image findings

There is a small abnormal shadow of the left lung, and the test drug “FDG” is gathered. It is a statue that suspects lung cancer. Whether the abnormal shadow of the PET image (right) is the same as the abnormal shadow of the CT image (upper left) is clear from the fusion image of PET and CT (lower left). The sliced image is 3.3mm thin.

Image findings

There is a small abnormal shadow of the left lung, and the test drug “FDG” is gathered. It is a statue that suspects lung cancer. Whether the abnormal shadow of the PET image (right) is the same as the abnormal shadow of the CT image (upper left) is clear from the fusion image of PET and CT (lower left). The sliced image is 3.3mm thin.

The test drug “FDG” is gathered between the left and right lungs (just where the vertical and horizontal lines intersect). This is a statue suspected of metastasis to the lymph nodes called the mediastinum. This vertical cut image is 7.5mm thin.

FAQ
About PET / CT inspection

Q1. Can any kind of cancer be found?
A1. PET / CT examination can detect many cancers such as colon cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, thyroid cancer, esophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, uterine / ovarian cancer, and malignant lymphoma. However, liver cancer and stomach cancer are difficult to collect drugs and are rarely discovered. Please take an ultrasonography or gastroscopy. In addition, since brains consume a lot of glucose physiologically, brain tumors are rarely found. In addition, the drug is excreted from the body as urine, making it difficult to detect kidney and bladder cancer. Please take ultrasound and urinalysis.

Q1. Can any person undergo a PET / CT examination?
A1. Those with high blood sugar levels (especially 200 mg / dl or more) can not be tested because it is difficult for drugs to gather in cancer.
In addition, because it is a test to be exposed, pregnant women cannot receive the test.

Q1. What about the safety of PET / CT examinations?
A1. PET / CT examination exposure is about 3.5 millisieverts per time, which is the same level as X-ray fluoroscopy of the stomach and intestine, but PET / CT for simultaneous CT imaging is about 10 millisieverts.
Please refrain from skinship with children under 10 on the day as much as possible.

Q1.Can PET / CT inspection be done by insurance treatment?
A1. Examination for the purpose of health check is not covered by insurance. Even those with cancer or suspected cancer are strictly determined based on the standards of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Please contact us for details.