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Salman Rashid, M.D.,
chief of Nuclear Medicine |
Monmouth Medical Center has introduced positron emission tomography
(PET) whole-body imaging — new technology that produces powerful
molecular images of the human body’s functions to search for
cancer in a single exam. “PET reveals metastatic disease other
imaging techniques simply can’t detect,” says radiologist
Salman Rashid, M.D., chief of Nuclear Medicine at Monmouth Medical
Center.“It helps to diagnose cancer and guides physicians
to the most beneficial therapies.”
The outpatient service uses a mobile PET scanning system that
is based at the Alexander Pavilion every Friday and every other
Monday. This imaging provides the means to identify early disease,
differentiate benign from malignant lesions, examine all organs
for metastases and determine therapeutic effectiveness.
“The diagnostic accuracy of PET is 8 percent to 43 percent
higher than conventional radiological procedures,” says Dr.
Rashid, who completed his residency in nuclear medicine at Christ
Hospital, Cincinnati, and is certified by the American Board of
Nuclear Medicine.“This noninvasive nuclear medicine has been
in existence for nearly 30 years but has been gaining acceptance
in oncologic imaging during the past five years.” PET scanning
involves the injection of a short-lived positron-emitting radiopharmaceutical
agent with an approximate two-hour half-life. When this F-18 agent
decays, it emits a positively charged electron, or positron, which
travels a few millimeters in soft tissue before combining with an
electron.
“The rationale for the use of this radiopharmaceutical is
that most malignant lesions have accentuated glucose metabolism,which
is mirrored by increased uptake of fluro- D-glucose (FDG),”Dr.
Rashid says.“Since FDG cannot be metabolized within the cell
like glucose, it is effectively trapped within cancer cells. Malignant
lesions appear visually as areas of increased activity, or hot spots
on a PET scan.” While other radiological studies provide detailed
anatomic information about the size and location of masses, they
do not provide the unique metabolic information available with PET,
according to Dr. Rashid.
“This imaging modality offers many benefits, including staging,
characterization and recurrence of disease,” he says. “It
enables us to diagnose disease earlier, as well as monitor the therapeutic
effectiveness of treatment, and replaces multiple tests and invasive
procedures.”
Most PET scan exams last about one hour, although whole-body scans
for melanoma last about 90 minutes.
For more information on PET scan services at Monmouth, including
a list of oncology applications for PET, call the Department of
Radiology at .
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