PET with CTC detects polyps well, requires no cleansing

PET with CT colonography provides an alternative for detecting polyps and cancer in the colon, according to a study published in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine. PET with CT colonography (CTC) is especially helpful because it does not require bowel preparation.

The study, involving 56 patients, is the largest to date investigating PET CTC in patients without bowel preparation. The patients underwent a PET CTC two weeks before their scheduled colonoscopy, the standard diagnostic test for colorectal cancer.

CTC sensitivity for polyps 6 mm or larger was 92.9% and was not improved by the addition of PET. But by combining PET with CTC, per-patient positive predictive value for a polyp 10 mm or greater jumped from 73% to 100% (J Nucl Med 2010;51:854-861).