Breakthrough in cancer scanning
The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in East Melbourne is using scans to predict the success of cancer therapies, thus allowing doctors to better determine if patients are benefiting from chemotherapy. If the patient is not improving, doctors will change to alternative treatments far earlier than previously possible.
Professor Miles Prince from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre said the six-year study would change the way breast cancers were treated worldwide. PET scans show the functions of the cells whereas conventional computed tomography (CT) scans show the structure of the body, he said.
