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PET SCANS OFFER EARLIER AND CLEARER PICTURE IN CANCER STAGING

Portland, OR, June 8, 2000--For cancer patients and their physicians, the best hope for treatment and recovery lies in being able to get a very clear picture of the disease and, just as important, the staging (or progression) of that disease.

New advances in PET (Positron Emission Tomography) technology offer an extremely clear, three-dimensional, whole body view, revealing the location and extent of a cancer long before it could be seen with the more conventionally used MRI and CT scans.

"Physicians are amazed when they see what can be done with the new PET scans," says Gerald L. Warnock, M.D., medical director of EPIC Imaging. "This technology is far superior to traditional scans at helping physicians determine what stage a cancer is in, whether cancer has returned and, in some cases, how well cancer treatments are working."

PET offers many benefits over other types of medical imaging. In addition to revealing cancers before they become detectable by MR or CT scans, PET can help doctors determine whether a tumor is benign or malignant without the need for invasive procedures such as surgical biopsies. In some cases, PET can show whether a cancer is responding to a course of treatment.

Specific uses presently include:

•	Differentiating benign from malignant tissue.
•	Detecting recurrent or persistent neoplasm after treatment. Frequently PET will show positive when both CT and MR are negative or equivocal.
•	Following response of tumors to therapy. (If a tumor shows little early response with chemo, a drug regimen may be changed early rather than late).

PET images are created with three technologies: a cyclotron, which produces radioisotopes; a scanner, which records the location of the radioisotopes as it accumulates in different tissues of the body; and a computer, which reconstructs the signals into three-dimensional images of the body. The patient is injected with a radioisotope tracer with glucose (sugar) and slowly moved through the scanner which images the entire body. Because cancer cells are highly metabolic and use more glucose than surrounding cells, they are easily seen on the PET scan, and in many cases, while the cancer is still in the cellular (or pre-tumor) stage. Because the image is of the entire body and all organ systems, disease progression is generally visible.

"PET allows us to see a cancer's function long before we would be able to see its form," says Dr. Warnock. "This picture information can be invaluable in the overall care of a cancer patient."

Although basic PET scanning was first developed in the 1960's, until recently the computing power did not exist to make it practical for medical scanning. Today's dedicated PET scanning computers take only minutes to assemble the data into images; formerly the same process required days.

Because improvements in PET technology are very recent, a large number of doctors are not yet aware of the benefits of dedicated PET scans, and only a few PET exams are currently recognized by insurers for reimbursement. This is changing as the benefits of PET become better known.

Besides cancer treatment, PET has clinical application in the diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders. Current applications include:

 •  Differentiating recurrent brain tumor from radiation necrosis.
 •  Localizing sources for intractable seizures.
 •  Diagnosis and follow-up of dementia.

The EPIC Portland PET Center is the first in Oregon to offer a dedicated PET scanner and offers the most sophisticated PET scanning technology available today. Portland PET Center is the wholly owned, enhanced Nuclear Medicine Division of EPIC Imaging. Gerald L. Warnock, M.D., serves as medical director and has long been a pioneer in bringing leading edge diagnostic imaging technology to the region. EPIC was one of the first non-hospital based nuclear medicine facilities licensed by the Oregon Health Division. EPIC Imaging is a family of centers with facilities in Beaverton and Portland housing all MRI types, spiral CT scanners, and a full range of radiology services for women's health, sports medicine, neuroradiology, oncology, geriatrics and preventative medicine.

EPIC Imaging is the leading, full-service, outpatient imaging resource serving Oregon and Southwest Washington. Our family of centers consists of EPIC Imaging|East, EPIC Imaging|West, EPIC Imaging|ENT and The Portland P|E|T Center which houses the first dedicated Positron Emission Technology (PET) scanner in the region.

Founded in 1959 and acquired by Dr. Gerald L. Warnock in 1964, EPIC has continued to grow and prosper by following one simple philosophy, combine the most advanced diagnostic imaging technology with the best in patient care and service.

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