The Health Technology Board for Scotland (HTBS) will today (October 30) be launching its Advice on Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging in cancer at the University of Aberdeen's John Mallard Scottish PET Centre. It will be recommending a PET imaging facility is set up as a national resource for people in Scotland with cancer.
PET is a new medical imaging technique that produces images showing the body's biochemistry and is unique in that PET images show how the body works. In the past it has only been available in Scotland for research.
Scientists in the University's Department of Biomedical Physics and Bioengineering have been convinced about the value of PET for medical diagnosis and treatment for a number of years. In 1998 they set up the first PET centre in Scotland. The £3 million state-of-the-art facility was named after John Mallard, who while Professor of Medical Physics at Aberdeen, was responsible for the invention of many new medical imaging techniques, including Magnetic Resonance Imaging.
HTBS was set up to advise the NHS on the potential value of drugs and technologies. In their advice, they conclude that in cancer, PET is more accurate than conventional X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging for certain purposes and can help to ensure that patients with cancer get the most effective treatment. They recommend that PET imaging should be used in people with Hodgkin's disease and further research should be carried out to see how it can contribute to the more effective management of other cancers, including other types of lymphoma, lung cancer, melanoma and head and neck cancer.
Professor Peter Sharp, Head of the Department of Biomedical Physics and Bioengineering, at the University of Aberdeen, chaired the expert working group that advised the HTBS on this report.
He said: "We set up the PET Centre in Aberdeen since, as scientists, we were convinced that it had much to offer the NHS. I am pleased that this view is supported by the HTBS who have done one of the most in-depth investigations on its clinical value. In Scotland, approximately 26,000 people are diagnosed with cancer each year. Cancer is the country's leading cause of premature death. If we can use PET to improve the management of this disease then our work in setting up the Centre and championing PET in Scotland will have been worthwhile."
Dr Andy Welch, Director of the PET Centre, added: "I am delighted with this report. It has been frustrating to have this technology available in Aberdeen and yet be unable to offer it to NHS patients in Scotland. We are optimistic that this report will eventually lead to PET imaging being available to cancer patients in the NHS. We have spare capacity on our imager and will be able to image patients as soon as the findings of this report are implemented."