SENSITIVITY OF PET FOR EARLY DEFECTION OF COLORECTAL-CARCINOMA

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a non-invasive diagnostic proced ure which is based on the imaging of radiolabeled intermediate metabol ic products. The new generation of PET scanners is becoming an importa nt tool in oncology for a sensitive early detection of recidivation or small metastatic lesions in colorectal cancer. This is a case report about a 59-year-old patient who had resection of colorectal cancer in 1993. During follow-up the tumor morker CA 19-9 increased, whereas X-r ay of the thorax, sonography of the abdomen, coloscopy, and laparoscop y showed negative results. Only the increase of CA 19-9 was an indicat ion for a whole-body PET investigation using flour-18-desoxy-glucose, which was able to detect a 3 cm lesion in the abdominal region. Postsu rgical CA 19-9 became normal.