| [ Summary ] |
FDG-PET cancer screening has become wide spread over the last decade in Japan because it can be used to detect a variety of malignant tumors including colorectal cancer, safely and easily. The detection rates for PET cancer screening have been reported to be much higher than other effective screening modalities. However, FDG-PET has some limitations and misses some kinds of malignant tumors. Moreover, the efficacy of PET cancer screening remains to be assessed. At this time, PET cancer screening is categorized as opportunistic screening. In most PET screening facilities, comprehensive screening courses have been adopted in order to minimize the limitations of FDG-PET. Colorecatal cancer is also one of the major targets of PET cancer screening. It has been reported in the recent publications that FDG-PET is a useful screening tool for the detection of colorectal cancer. The assessment of the validity of this statement is a significant and urgent issue concerning PET cancer screening. |