PET-CT scanning in the early detection of metastasis in patients with colon cancer

This study investigated the positive effect of PET-CT (an imaging technique) evaluation after surgery in stage 3 colon cancer. Researchers suggested that early follow-up with PET-CT leads to early detection of metastasis (spread to other parts of the body) in patients with stage 3 colon cancer.

Stage 3 colon cancer (spread to the near lymph nodes) is a global health problem. The standard treatment is colon surgery and chemotherapy. Despite the effectiveness of this treatment, many patients still experience metastasis. Clearly, better detection and treatments are necessary for these patients.

A PET-CT scan is an imaging test that allows the doctor to check the structure and function of the tissues of the body. A special dye is injected into your body which is then detected in a PET scanner image. The use PET-CT allows for an early and more accurate diagnosis. However, the routine use of PET-CT in patients with colon cancer is not indicated.

Patients with stage 3 colon cancer are high-risk patients that could benefit from routine PET-CT. PET-CT may be able to detect metastasis that would have been otherwise missed by other procedures. However, the effect of using PET-CT routinely to monitor these patients is not clear.

This study included 342 patients with stage 3 colon cancer who underwent surgery.

Early PET-CT after surgery changed the treatment of 13.4% of these patients. Of these, 37 patients (10.8%) were diagnosed with metastatic disease while 9 (2.6%) with a new second cancer.

The 5-year disease-free survival was 81%. Of the 37 patients found to have metastatic disease, 14 (37.8%) underwent treatment. 9 of these 14 remained disease-free after an average follow-up of 83.8 months. The average overall survival for patients diagnosed with metastatic disease after PET-CT was 57.2 months.

Using PET-CT routinely to follow-up patients with stage 3 colon cancer after surgery allows for early detection of curable metastasis.

This study was based on medical records and did not a comparative treatment group.