The researcher and Professor of Nuclear Medicine at Rabdoud University, Nijmegen (Netherlands), Wim Oyen, explained its progress in the implementation of

FDG/PET imaging technique to improve the diagnosis of various diseases and facilitate the process of therapeutic decision. It was on July 1st as part of the seminars IDIBELL.
Imaging of glucose consumption by cells is the basis of FDG / PET. For example, a high consumption of glucose by tumor cells, which increase their metabolic activity, allows the detection of tumors. Or, in normal conditions, brain and heart cells have high glucose uptake, thus a decrease in FDG uptake in these cells will facilitate the diagnosis of pathologies related to these organs.

The team led by Wim Oyen has coordinated several multicenter studies showing that FDG / PET is useful for cases of fever of unknown origin, cardiac infection and inflammation, spondylitis and metastatic infections. In these last cases, Oyen has conducted a study in which the use of FDG / PET has lowered relapse rates between 12 and 15%, and mortality between 20 and 35%, compared with individuals do not performed FDG / PET. “It’s about getting the best diagnosis in the shortest possible time” it is important because early diagnosis and the FDG / PET can scan the entire body as well, explained Oyen “is very fast, in an hour and a half can read the scan results and clinical decision making. ”

According to Oyen, the improvements brought by the image FDG / PET outweigh the expense “not only in the reduction of mortality but it also lowers the patient’s stay in the hospital, especially in those difficult cases of patients who receive no treatment while waiting for their diagnosis.”

In the case of fever of unknown origin or difficult cases to diagnose, FDG / PET can be used, explained Oyen, to guide physicians towards the source of the problem and guide them in the diagnosis: “If it detects irregular localized glucose consumption, at least you know what is not working”.