FET (Fluoroethyl-Tyrosine) is an amino acid and is included in areas where many proteins are produced. This is the case, for example, with certain malignant brain tumors such as glioblastomas. With a PET / MRI scanner (Positron Emission Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging combined), the uptake of FET in the brain tumor can be precisely ‘measured’ and imaged. This is important, for example, to determine the best place to take a neurosurgical biopsy.
Effects of radiation on brain tumor
Imaging with this new method can also help to distinguish the effects of radiation from tumor growth. The purpose of radiation is to shrink the tumor, but the surrounding tissue can also respond to the radiation. With an MRI it is not always possible to tell the difference between the change in the surrounding tissue and any growth of the tumor. The new FET-PET / MRI is mainly requested for patients who have doubts about the effect of the treatment.
Previously, patients were referred for this study to the PET research center in Jülich, Germany. That it is now offered in Maastricht for the OncoZON region (Limburg and the northeastern part of Brabant), has direct benefits for the patients of Maastricht UMC +:
- Treatment closer to home, so less travel time, and more accurate and faster diagnostics and therefore faster treatment.
- The patient only needs to be scanned once, instead of twice in the past.
Close cooperation
The new FET-PET / MRI research has become possible through close collaboration between different departments of the Maastricht UMC +: Imaging, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Radiotherapy and Medical Oncology, and with the support of the boards of the Oncology Center and the Brain / Nerve Center.
The new way of imaging a brain tumor is performed as much as possible in the hybrid PET / MRI scanner at Maastricht UMC +. This scanner combines two imaging techniques in one scanner. With PET (Positron Emission Tomography) certain processes of organs and tissues can be visualized with a radioactive substance. MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) creates images by means of a combination of strong magnetic fields and radio waves.
Maastricht UMC + is currently – in addition to Rotterdam’s Erasmus MC – the only center in the Netherlands that has an integrated PET / MRI scanner. It is also one of the first clinics to use the technique not only for research but also for patient care.
New scanning equipment
A few years ago, the Maastricht UMC + took over a digital PET / PT scanner in use that reduces the time for examining a patient. The PET / CT scan differs from its predecessors because the part of the body that can be scanned at once, for example an organ, is larger. This results in a better quality, so that small abnormalities, such as metastases of tumors and small sources of infection, are easier to see. In addition, the scans take less time.
Opening event 2021
Would you also like to attend the ICT & health Opening event on 17 June 2021? Entrance tickets are free, but they are really gone! So don’t wait and sign up quickly.
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