PET/CT spots prostate cancer return

PET/CT spots prostate cancer return
Utilizing radioactively labeled choline, PET/ CT can detect recurring prostate cancer sooner than conventional imaging technologies in some patients who have had their prostates surgically removed. The study, conducted at the University of Bologna, Italy, and published this month in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine, included 190 patients who had undergone radical prostatectomy and showed biochemical relapse in follow-up examinations, as indicated by a rise of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in their blood. The researchers suggest that only patients with a high probability of having a positive scan based on PSA levels and kinetics should undergo choline PET/CT scans. This will minimize the number of inappropriate choline PET/CT scans while increasing early detection of cancer recurrence, they said.

Hologic readies advanced breast cancer device
Hologic can begin marketing an advanced version of its MammoSite ML, a radiation therapy system designed to irradiate breast cancer. The FDA has now cleared the enhanced device, successor to the MammoSite product that passed agency muster seven years ago. This single-lumen device has treated more than 50,000 breast cancer patients in the U.S. The new version features a multi-lumen design, which allows oncologists to shape the radiation dose, targeting areas of the breast where the cancer is most likely to recur, while limiting the exposure of normal, healthy tissue. MammoSite ML, like its predecessor, is comprised of an inflatable balloon catheter in which a radioactive source is introduced for therapy delivery. The inflatable balloon is inserted into the surgical cavity that remains after removal of the tumor. This local placement provides for the delivery of a five-day course of radiation to the tissue most likely to contain residual cancerous cells. Using the MammoSite multi-lumen catheter, the radiation oncologist can shift the radiation dose to the areas that need it most and away from those that do not require it.