Health Imaging & IT - June 2008 - (Page 14)

special secTiOn MOlecular iMaging By Lisa Fratt PET/CT Delivers great expectations More than ﬁve years after PET/CT technology thrust open the door to clinical molecular imaging, the technology is now proving its clinical worth. As the National Oncologic PET Registry (NOPR) releases data collected over the last two years, the value of PET/CT in oncology patient management is clear. care or a third-party payor,” explains Blodgett. The significance The NOPR, designed to examine the role of PET in management is tremendous because the lack of reimbursement has limited of cancers not currently eligible for Medicare coverage, points to PET/CT imaging. the value of PET/CT imaging. “Based on the data, we can expect Although reimbursement policies vary by state, in many cases PET/CT results to change patient management in about 35 perpayors do not reimburse for PET/CT without a previous diagcent of cases,” states Chaitanya Divgi, MD, chief of nuclear mednostic CT study. If the CT results are normal, it can be difficult icine and clinical molecular imaging at the University of Pennto persuade an oncologist to sylvania Health System in order a PET study. ReimPhiladelphia. If the Centers bursement woes cross paths for Medicare & Medicaid with a second barrier—phyServices (CMS) accept the sician education. data, PET/CT access should “Even in the United States improve, says Todd Blodgett, where PET/CT systems are MD, chief of cancer imaging ubiquitous, PET/CT is undeat University of Pittsburgh rutilized because many phyMedical Center (UPMC) in sicians think CT is the gold Pennsylvania. standard. But CT often missPET/CT is spreading it es lesions that are detected wings beyond oncology, too. with PET or PET/CT,” notes The hybrid modality is a Blodgett. If the CT is abnorboon to cardiac imaging, mal, the oncologist may use providing a solid option for the CT for decision-making; an array of cardiovascular however, baseline PET/CT imaging needs. This month, [ These images taken on a GE Gemini TF PET/CT scanner show a patient with studies are critical and can Health Imaging & IT visits a lymphoma via a pre-treatment (bottom) and during treatment cycle (top), thus showing the effectiveness of the treatment regimen. Courtesy of University Hospitals change the overall approach trio of experts to learn more Case Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio. ] to patient management. about molecular imaging’s Take, for example, lung cancer patients. “There is no low-risk premiere modality. lung cancer. A patient should not be referred to surgery if occult metastatic disease is present,” says Blodgett. And PET/CT, rather Oncology imaging: removing barriers, new frontiers than CT, is the best means to locate occult disease. Oncology imaging is the major growth area for PET/CT imag“The reimbursement paradigm needs to be reversed,” states ing. The publication of NOPR data could open the door to appliDivgi, with simultaneous PET/CT serving as the gold standard cations in scores of additional cancers. “NOPR applies to staging for staging and treatment efficacy monitoring. As the reimburseand re-staging of any malignancy currently not covered by Medi14 Health Imaging & IT | June 2008 HealthImaging.com http://HealthImaging.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Health Imaging & IT - June 2008

Health Imaging & IT - June 2008 Contents On The Web The Enterprise News Update Cover Story: Pushing Productivity: How Imaging is Building Efficiency and Cutting Costs Technology Outlook: Imaging Procedures Poised for Growth Great Expectations: PET/CT Delivers SPECT/CT Proving it's Potential MR/PET Holds Promise Good Image Management: Infiltrating Molecular Imaging SNM Preview Modality Review: Mammography’s Next Step: The Dawning of Breast Tomosynthesis Managing Technology: Radiation Oncology: Opening the Doors to IT Reader's Resource Stat Sheet

Health Imaging & IT - June 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.