Positron Emission Mammography Detects Smaller Tumors Than MRI

In a recent independent study, a positron emission mammography (PEM) system was shown to be more accurate than magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in detecting very small tumors.

Naviscan PET Systems (San Diego, CA, USA), a company specializing in organ-specific high resolution positron emission tomography (PET) scanners, presented new clinical data using the PEM Flex scanner in breast cancer management at the Society of Nuclear Medicine's annual meeting, held in New Orleans, LA, USA, in June 2008. The PEM Flex Solo II is a commercially available, U.S. Food and Drug- (FDA)-cleared scanner that utilizes PET technology for the breast application known as PEM.

Findings presented from an independent study of 136 patients comparing the accuracy of PEM and MRI in the pre-surgical planning of breast cancer patients indicated that PEM technology is more sensitive than MRI in detecting the smallest cancers. PEM demonstrated 91% sensitivity in-ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) compared to 83% with MRI and better sensitivity in cancers less than five mm in size. PEM also detected a 2-mm DCIS case shown to be negative on MRI.

"In our research, PEM accurately detected and characterized the smallest and most difficult to see cancers--specifically DCIS, which is often impossible to see with other imaging modalities,” said Kathy Schilling, M.D. and medical director of the Center for Breast Care (Boca Raton, FL, USA), who has been studying PEM for more than two years. "The ability to image and diagnose these early stage cancers provides the potential for cure and will significantly impact breast cancer management.”

Dr. Schilling has been using the PEM Flex scanner in her practice as a tool for evaluating additional and unsuspected disease in the breast and compares these findings with that of MRI. She is also a lead investigator in a 400 patient, multi-center clinical trial comparing PEM and MRI in breast cancer patients.

Naviscan PET Systems develops and markets compact, high-resolution PET scanners intended to provide organ-specific molecular imaging, guide radiologic and surgical procedures and advance new clinical therapies. The PEM Flex Solo II is currently installed and available in breast centers and imaging centers throughout the U.S. PEM Flex is also utilized in clinical research studies, funded in part by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD, USA). The company is the first company to obtain FDA clearance of a high-resolution PET scanner designed to image small body parts.


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