Cancer is not just one disease but many diseases. There are more than 100 different types of cancer. Most cancers are named for the organ or type of cell in which they start - for example, cancer that begins in the colon is called colon cancer; cancer that begins in basal cells of the skin is called basal cell carcinoma.
Cancer is a term used for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and are able to invade other tissues. Cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph systems.
Carcinoma: cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover internal organs.
Sarcoma: cancer that begins in bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels, or other connective or supportive tissue.
Leukemia: cancer that starts in blood-forming tissue such as the bone marrow and causes large numbers of abnormal blood cells to be produced and enter the blood.
Lymphoma and myeloma: cancers that begin in the cells of the immune system.
Central nervous system cancers: cancers that begin in the tissues of the brain and spinal cord.
All cancers begin in cells, the body's basic unit of life. To understand cancer, it's helpful to know what happens when normal cells b
ecome cancer cells.
The body is made up of many types of cells. These cells grow and divide in a controlled way to produce more cells as they are needed to keep the body healthy. When cells become old or damaged, they die and are replaced with new cells.
However, sometimes this orderly process goes wrong. The genetic material (DNA) of a cell can become damaged or changed, producing mutations that affect normal cell growth and division. When this happens, cells do not die when they should and new cells form when the body does not need them. The extra cells may form a mass of tissue called a tumor Not all tumors are cancerous; tumors can be benign or malignant.
Most often, these symptoms are not due to cancer. They may also be caused by benign tumors or other problems. Only a doctor can tell for sure. Anyone with these symptoms or other changes in health should see a doctor to diagnose and treat problems as early as possible. Usually, early cancer does not cause pain. If you have symptoms, do not wait to feel pain before seeing a doctor.
Tests of the blood, urine, or other fluids can help doctors make a diagnosis. These tests can show how well organ functioning. Also, high amounts of some substances may be a sign of cancer. These substances are often called tumor markers. However, abnormal lab results are not a sure sign of cancer. Doctors cannot rely on lab tests alone to diagnose cancer.
Create pictures of areas inside body that help the doctor see whether a tumor is present. These pictures can be made in several ways:
In most cases, doctors need to do a biopsy to make a diagnosis of cancer. For a biopsy, a sample of tissue is taken from identified tumor and sends it to a lab. A pathologist looks at the tissue under a microscope.
The sample may be removed in several ways:
With a needle: The doctor uses a needle to withdraw tissue or fluid.
With an endoscope: The doctor uses a thin, lighted tube (an endoscope) to look at areas inside the body. The doctor can remove tissue or cells through the tube.
With surgery: Surgery may be excision or incision
18F Sodium Fluoride Bone Scan is a state- of-the-art Skeletal Scintigraphy done on a PET-CT scanner. It is a highly sensitive and superior test compared to the regular Nuclear MDP Bone Scan and can be used in the same disease conditions like:
There is enough literature evidence to show that 18 F Sodium Fluoride Bone Scans are superior to conventional MDP bone scans in the early detection of skeletal Lesions
A brief history of the patient's condition is taken and relevant previous reports are collected
68Gallium DOTA Peptide PET / CT scan - the ultimate in the diagnosis and management of Neuro Endocrine Tumors (NET).
These are the tumors which affect predominantly organs like GIT, pancreas, lung etc. Carcinoid tumors of GIT and lung, insulimnomas of pancreas, gastrinomas are to name a few. Some of these patients present with symptoms such as intractable diarrhoea, flushes etc. and are clinically classified as Carcinoid Syndrome
68Gallium DOTA Peptide is a short lived (half-life of about 1 hr) position emitting radionuclide tagged to peptides which will bind to the cell having these receptors in certain group of tumors called Neuro Endocrine tumors. It is used for the detection of these tumors, staging the disease before deciding the treatment options and after treatment to look for the response to treatment or recurrence.
The PET / CT scan done after the injection of 68Gallium DOTA Peptide is called 68Ga DOTA Peptide PET /CT scan.
This is a functional/metabolic scan which has much higher proven sensitivity and specificity in the NET, than the regular conventional imaging like CT & MRI. It helps in deciding about the treatment options in the patients and knows response to the treatment.
No preparation is necessary if the patient has already had a diagnostic CT. But if the patient requires CECT along with 68Gallium PET, then 2hrs fasting is mandatory.
68Gallium DOTA Peptide is absolutely safe. There are no side effects.
Clinical condition |
Indication |
When to utilize pet-ct |
Oncology Brain Tumours |
Post Radiation To Evaluate For Recurrence |
|
Head & neck cancers |
Staging, restaging, tx monitoring radiation treatment planning |
|
Thyroid cancer |
iodine negative metastases tx monitoring |
|
Solitary pulmonary nodule |
Characterize: Benign vs malignant |
|
Lung cancer |
Diagnosis,staging, restaging, tx monitoring radiation treatment planning |
|
Breast cancer |
W/b staging, restaging, tx monitoring |
|
Esophageal cancer |
Staging, restaging, tx monitoring radiation treatment planning |
|
Colorectal cancer |
Staging, restaging, tx monitoring |
|
Reproductive tract tumors
|
|
|
Lymphomas |
Staging, Restaging, Tx Monitoring |
|
Neurology Epilepsy/Refractory Seizures |
Pre-Surgical Localization Of Foci |
|
Dementia |
Diagnosis |
|
Cardiology Ischemic Heart Disease Dilated Cardiomyopathy Idiopathic Ventricular Tachycardia, Cardiac Sarcoidosis |
Myocardial Ischemia Myocardial Viability To Diagnose Inflammatory Myocarditis |
|
Bone scan Sodium fluoride F18 pet-ct scan |
All common cancers |
|
Non oncological FDG applications Infections |
Puo Orthopaedics |
|
Source: Portal Content Team
Last Modified : 12/28/2021
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