Accurate assessment of the extent of disease is critical to the appropriate surgical plan and patient management carepath. Often conventional anatomical imaging and even molecular imaging at the whole-body level do not provide adequate information. Now with the commercial availability of a new adjunct technology called positron emission mammography (PEM), radiologists, breast surgeons, oncologists and nuclear medicine practitioners have a new tool in the fight against cancer that enables them to visualize and accurately characterize the scope of the disease at the metabolic level.

Capable of imaging cancers as small as 1.5 -2.0 mm, PEM can provide clinicians with more precise information about the extent of disease and a significant tool for surgical planning, monitoring therapy, and evaluating suspected recurrence.

"It [PEM Flex] is very helpful to us in making sure we don't miss multifocal or multicentric disease. The difference is really important because multifocality may mean that someone can have breast conservation, while multicentricity is usually a contraindication to breast conservation."

Jay Harness, MD
Medical Director
Comprehensive Breast Center
St. Joseph Hospital
Orange, CA