There are many different options available to imaging doctors for the use of scans for determining different types of information about a patient. A new study indicates that there may be sometimes when it doesn't really matter if the doctor chooses to use an MRI scan or an FDG-PET/CT scan because the results are similar enough between them. There are other times, however, when it is important to choose the right scan because of the differences between the two types of imaging.
"FDG-PET/CT and MRI show similar diagnostic accuracies in differentiating between malignant and benign soft-tissue tumors, but offer different attributes when imaging for bone tumors." (source)
This means that doctors who are looking at soft-tissue tumors can choose to use either scan depending on the personal preferences of the doctor and / or the patient as well as the availability of the scanning technology. However, doctors that are looking at bone tumors are encouraged to make use of the MRI because it has a better predictive results history than the FDG-PET/CT does.
Question of the Day: Does it matter whether doctors use the MRI or FDG-PET/CT for soft-tissue tumors?
