As pioneers of medical imaging, we were an early adopter of the PET technology in 1996 and installed Australia’s first PET/CT scanner in 2002. We have four state-of-the-art PET/CT scanners, including one used for radiotherapy planning, and our department performs over 8000 PET/CT scans per year.
Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
PET is extremely sensitive for detecting the initial stages of disease and can detect abnormalities even in the absence of structural changes. We can find tiny amounts of tumour using PET, even if they are undetectable by other imaging procedures. This can have an important impact on choosing the best treatment option.
We can use PET information to determine what combination of surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy is most likely to be successful in managing a patient’s cancer. PET can also help monitor therapy effectiveness and help plan for surgery and radiation therapy.
Types of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans
|
Name of test/radiotracer |
Purpose of test |
|---|---|
|
Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET |
Most scans are done with this sugar-like tracer. As tumours use sugars to grow, it is useful for imaging a wide range of different tumours but can also be useful for imaging inflammation, infection and brain function |
|
DOTA-TATE (GaTate) and DOTA-NOC PET |
Mainly used to image neuroendocrine tumours, phaechromocytoma, paraganglioma and neuroblastoma |
|
Ga-68 Prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) or F-18 PSR |
Imaging of prostate cancer |
|
Fluoroethyltyrosine (FET) PET |
Mainly used for imaging brain tumours |
|
Ga-68 Exendin-4 (GLP1R) PET |
Localisation of insulinoma |
Specialist consultants may order a PET scan using our two-page request form and email it to
Medical imaging contact information
Cancer Imaging
- Location: Level 5 (5C), 305 Grattan Street, Melbourne VIC 3000.
- Phone: (03) 8559 5510
- Fax: (03) 8559 5529
Medical imaging resources
Medical imaging links