What Is a PET Scan - Cleveland Clinic

Findings may help identify patients who are less likely to respond to neoadjuvant therapy, potentially informing timely consideration of alternative treatment strategies or surgery 68Ga-HER2 PET/CT images before neoadjuvant therapy, at end of second cycle, and before surgery. (A) Baseline scan demonstrated soft-tissue lesion measuring approximately 2.3 × 2.2 cm in upper outer quadrant of left breast, with marked radiotracer uptake and SUVmax of 10.1. (B) At end of second cycle, imaging revealed residual lesion of approximately 2.2 × 1.0 cm in same region, without abnormal radiotracer accumulation. (C) Preoperative imaging demonstrated further reduction in lesion size to approximately 2.0 × 0.6 cm, with no abnormal tracer uptake detected. Image source: adapted from: Gao S, Zhang Z, Cheng C et al, Journal of Nuclear Medicine 2026 (CC BY 4.0)

A next-generation total-body PET/CT scanner can produce diagnostic-quality images in as little as 1 minute of scanning, according to research presented today at the 39th Annual Congress of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM'26). Even its fastest images were rated more highly on average than those from a standard PET/CT scanner. PET/CT is widely used to diagnose, stage and monitor cancer. Conventional PET/CT scanners have a short axial field of view, meaning they image the body section by section, typically requiring five to six 'bed positions' to cover the body from head to thigh. Long-axial field-of-view (LA-FOV) systems capture a much larger part of the body at once and detect more of the signal emitted by the radiotracer, raising the possibility of much shorter scans without sacrificing image quality.

In this interview, Imogen Locke (The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, UK) discusses the evolving role of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) in oligometastatic and oligoprogressive breast cancer. Locke explains the distinction between these two clinical scenarios, how timing and patient selection influence treatment decisions, and emerging evidence around metastasis-directed radiotherapy for ER-positive, HER2-negative patients on CDK4/6 inhibitors. Additionally, Locke walks us through a patient case study and highlights key radiotherapy trials seeking to answer the most pressing questions in breast cancer radiotherapy.

I can’t count how many times my mother attempted suicide. It first happened when I was 15, in 1999. The final time — when she actually died — came when I was 32, in 2016.