Choline C-11 PET scan is typically an imaging test that doctors use to aid in the detection of sites of prostate cancer that have recurred despite treatment (recurrent prostate cancer). It is applicable when other forms of imaging tests fail to yield any results.
Choline C-11 PET scan is a positron emission tomography (PET) scan that makes use of a special tracer known as Choline -11 Injection. A low-dose computerized tomography is done simultaneously to help further show internal anatomy.
Choline C-11 PET scan can be helpful to doctors in the detection of possible sites of recurrent prostate cancer that more conventional image testing methods fail to identify. Finding the location of recurrent prostate cancer sooner may allow your doctor to identify, small isolated deposits of cancer within the prostate and outside the prostate that can be targeted for a more effective treatment.
Choline C-11 PET scan uses a radioactive form of the vitamin choline. A small quantity of the tracer is injected into a vein in your arm just before your scan is done. Prostate cancer cells in your body readily absorb the tracer. This make possible for doctors to detect areas of prostate cancer cells in your body.
A biopsy to remove some of the cells for lab testing is then done to make a confirmation of the presence of recurrent prostate cancer.
