Application of PET/MR examinations
- detection, assessment of malignancy, stage of advancement (local and distant metastases), assessment of response to treatment and diagnostics in the case of suspected tumor recurrence based on their metabolic activity and image in magnetic resonance imaging,
- assessment of the activity of neoplastic lesions in order to plan radiotherapy,
- assessment of tumor activity to indicate the place for biopsy,
- assessment of response to chemo-, radio- and immunotherapy in oncological patients,
- detection, staging and assessment of brain tumor recurrence – significantly higher diagnostic sensitivity than PET-CT,
- imaging of head and neck tumors, e.g. cancer of the tongue, oral cavity, larynx – higher spatial resolution in relation to the PET / CT technique,
- diagnostics of lung diseases, including: lung tumors, lung metastases – sensitivity comparable to PET-CT,
- diagnosis and assessment of mediastinal tumors,
- detection and assessment of the stage of pleural mesothelioma,
- assessment of the malignancy and advancement of breast tumors, including lymph nodes and distant metastases,
- assessment of the location of active inflammatory lesions in the course of inflammatory diseases (inflammatory bowel disease, sarcoidosis, vasculitis and others),
- diagnosis of focal changes in the liver,
- diagnosis of focal lesions in the skeletal system,
- exclusion/confirmation of the metastatic nature of the lesions, searching for the primary focus,
- assessment of the advancement and response to treatment of malignant tumors of the skeletal system,
- abdominal cancers, differential diagnosis, assessment of the advancement of lesions, suspicion of recurrence,
- hepatocellular carcinoma, gallbladder cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, kidney cancer – assessment of the degree of malignancy, advancement stage, suspicion of recurrence, assessment of response to treatment,
- pancreatic tumors, assessment of the nature of the changes and stage of advancement,
- gastrointestinal cancers (stomach, small intestine, large intestine, including rectum) – assessment of the degree of malignancy, advancement stage, response to treatment and suspicion of recurrence,
- prostate cancer, assessment of the primary lesion, search for recurrence foci and assessment of the advancement of changes,
- diagnostics, staging and recurrence of gynecological cancers in women in the pelvic area: ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer, cervical cancer,
- cancers of the musculoskeletal system: assessment of the stage of the disease, diagnosis of metastases/recurrences, assessment of response to treatment,
- malignant melanoma – the examination enables the detection of metastases (usually subcutaneous, to the bones, liver and brain) and evaluation of the effectiveness of treatment,
- lymphomas and other haematological diseases – assessment of the stage of the disease, recurrence, selection of the appropriate method of treatment and assessment of response to treatment,
- searching for the primary tumor focus,
- searching for foci of inflammation, fever of unknown etiology,
- location of parathyroid adenoma,
- suspected thyroid cancer recurrence, with a negative I-131 scintigraphy examination,
- diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases, dementia – e.g. Alzheimer’s disease, differential diagnosis of fronto-temporal dementia (FTD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD),
- location of epilepsy foci,
- assessment of myocardial viability.
Contraindications
Absolute
We do not perform examinations in pregnant women and in people who have implanted cochlear implants, metallic elements that cannot be imaged in magnetic resonance, or there is no appropriate documentation to assess the patient’s safety.
Relative
PET/MR examination may be performed under specific conditions (always to the decision of the doctor supervising the examination, based on medical documentation):
- claustrophobia,
- stents, vascular clips, stent grafts, cardioverter/defibrillator, pacemakers, neurostimulators, orthopedic stabilization, orthodontic appliances, dental implants.
