PET/CT Scans Found Highly Effective in Detecting Spread of Eye Cancer
Researchers at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary have found that a whole body positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scan is the most effective diagnostic tool to detect and localize metastatic choroidal melanoma, a rare but potentially fatal cancer of the eye.
(PRWEB) October 12, 2005 -- Researchers at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary have found that a whole body positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scan is the most effective diagnostic tool to detect and localize metastatic choroidal melanoma, a rare but potentially fatal cancer of the eye.
The study, published in the September 21, 2005 online issue of The British Journal of Ophthalmology, found that choroidal melanoma which had spread to the liver was not identified in patients by standard liver enzyme assays, whereas the “PET/CT scan revealed both hepatic (liver) and extrahepatic metastatic melanoma,” according to Paul T. Finger, M.D., lead author of the study and director of Ocular Tumor Services at the Infirmary.
The study looked at 52 patients with choroidal melanoma. They were examined with a full body PET/CT scan, along with a physical examination, liver function tests and a baseline chest x-ray. Two of the 52 were found to have metastatic melanoma before treatment. Both of these patients had metastases to the liver. Bone, lymph node and brain metastases were also found, but not it both patients.
“We currently recommend whole body PET/CT as an imaging tool for initial staging at the time of diagnosis. It appears to be more sensitive than liver function tests and is especially useful in the detection of extrahepatic tumors,” said Dr. Finger.
The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, the oldest specialty hospital in the Western Hemisphere, is the primary teaching hospital for the New York Medical College. It has approximately 142,000 outpatient visits annually and over 20,000 surgical procedures per year. It has one of the nation’s most extensive eye, ear, nose and throat clinics.
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