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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- The most powerful imaging tool used to monitor a wide range of cancers is positron emission tomography (PET), a new study confirms.
Over two years, nearly 41,000 PET studies conducted at more than 1,300 cancer centers across the nation were used in the study. During the first year of the study, researchers found PET can detect more active cancer areas than other imaging tools, allowing for earlier treatment. PETs impact on cancer management was found to result in treatment changes in more than one out of three cases. The finding was so significant it encouraged researchers to formally ask the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to reevaluate the current National Coverage Determination on oncologic use of PET.
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The goal of the most recent leg of the study was to see if the impact of PET varies between cancers. Researchers found variations werent significant. As a result, we believe that coverage for PET in the staging, restaging and detection of recurrence of cancer should be handled the same across the board, Bruce E. Hillner, M.D., lead author and a professor of medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va., was quoted as saying.
The study was launched in 2006 in response to a proposal from CMS to expand PET coverage to include cancers not presently eligible for reimbursement, including cancers of the ovary, uterus, prostate, pancreas, stomach, kidney and bladder.
CMS is expected to have a draft decision in January and the final National Coverage Determination will be made in April.
SOURCE: Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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