Before and after therapy, PET scans may evaluate the whole colon, reducing the risk involved with obtaining tissue samples.
Glasgow researchers have discovered a novel way to use imaging technology to diagnose and treat colon cancer without the need for biopsies.
Biopsies are restricted in what they may remove from a patient’s gut and need an intrusive process that carries a variety of health hazards, including infection.
Researchers at Cancer Research UK discovered that instead of analyzing tissue after it has been removed, positron emission tomography (PET) imaging enables examination of the whole colon and studies tumors while they are within the body.
Researchers think that having many scans during therapy might improve disease monitoring since PET scans provide a three-dimensional image of the interior of the body.
The research’s principal investigator, Dr. David Lewis of the University of Glasgow and the Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute, stated: “Precision medicine has the potential to revolutionize cancer diagnosis and treatment.”
But the creation of precise, educational, and patient-centered diagnostic methods is essential to its success.
“With its capacity to scan the whole cancer landscape, PET imaging offers a promising alternative that enables us to examine tumors in greater detail while they are still growing.”
In Scotland, an estimated 4,000 people get a colon cancer diagnosis each year, and 1,800 of those individuals also pass away from the illness, according to Cancer Research UK.
The study team employed PET imaging to detect several tumor features based on genetic data already available on bowel cancer.
Based on the genes of the mice, they were also able to identify many forms of colon cancer.
“These findings by the team at the Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute and University of Glasgow offer an exciting opportunity to revolutionise the way we diagnose and monitor bowel cancer without invasive surgery, reducing the risk and improving outcomes for patients,” stated Dr. Catherine Elliott, director of research at Cancer Research UK.
“In our future approach to diagnosing this disease, which affects so many people in Scotland, PET imaging is an essential tool.”
