Authors' objectives:

The aim of this report is to review the monitorized use of 18FDG positron emission tomography (FDG-PET).

Authors' recommendations: Assessment of the PET technique in the management of patients: In most cases (92%) the PET has contributed with complementary information. In 39% of patients that the PET was requested to study a non conclusive lesion with the CDM or to confirm the metastasis character of certain lesions, this technique has allowed to detect new lesions that had not even been suspected with those conventional techniques. The PET has modified the diagnosis and/or tumoral staging in a high percentage of cases (57%) and it has driven to changes in the treatment that one had foreseen to settle down before carrying out the PET in 79% of cases. Of those it led to an inter-modality change in 53% while in 6% it was a therapeutic modification inside the same modality (for the remaining 40% this information was not given). Also, the PET findings have avoided the making of other diagnostic tests (associated to risks many of them) in 76% of patient. The PET has avoided unnecessary therapies equally in 76% of the cases, sometimes suspending the treatment when total remission was confirmed by PET, other times concluding the administration of QT and deciding to carry out transplant of bony marrow, and in other occasions, indicating a surgery that was not foreseen or discarding it when it detects more lesions of those suspected initially with the other CDM. In general, the physicians consider that the PET has been useful in the handling of their patients in 88% of cases (decisive in 29% and very useful in 35% of the total) in front of the remaining 12% of cases where it has been little or very little useful.

Authors' methods: Review

Project Status: Completed

URL for project: http://www.isciii.es/htdocs/investigacion/publicaciones_agencia/46UT-PET.pdf

Year Published: 2005

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: Spain

Organisation Name: Agencia de Evaluacion de Tecnologias Sanitarias

Contact Address: Instituto de Salud "Carlos III", Calle Sinesio Delgado 6, Pabellon 4, 28029 Madrid, Spain. Tel: +34 9 1 822 2005; Fax: +34 9 1 387 7841;

Contact Name: Luis M. Sánchez Gómez

Contact Email: luism.sanchez@isciii.es

Copyright: Agencia de Evaluacion de Tecnologias Sanitarias (AETS)