Combined positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT) is currently widely used in the clinical diagnosis of cancer to provide functional and morphological imaging. The value of PET/CT in detection of the recurrence and metastasis of colorectal cancer (CRC) was recently confirmed in an article appearing in the October 7 issue of the World Journal of Gastroenterology.The research performed at the Department of Medical Oncology, Jinling Hospital, China. Dr. Chen and his colleagues observed a total of 68 postoperative CRC patients, 48 male and 20 female, who were examined in the Jinling Hospital PET/CT Center between August 2004 and August 2006. After PET/CT imaging, recurrence and/or metastasis were confirmed in 82.4% (56/68) of the patients, with 91.7% (22/24) cases with elevated serum CEA levels. PET/CT detected more lesions than CT or ultrasonography alone in 30.4 % (17/56) of the cases of recurrence and/or metastasis.
