One of the most critical aspects of cancer treatment follow-ups and remission is continued attention to the affected areas of the patient’s body. In June 2013, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) decided to cover the costs of up to three PET/IC scans in an effort to provide adequate management of an “anti-tumor treatment strategy after completion of initial anticancer therapy.” This decision motivated a careful study of how necessary follow-up scans are for lung cancer patients, as well as other cancer patients, in order to provide the best possible cancer treatment.

The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) recently completed the retrospective study in February 2015. Their research showed that 28.1% patients that received four or more follow-up PET/CTs received a change in treatment management than the initially prescribed method. This preliminary study included a sample size of 1,171 cases of lung cancer patients who received treatment between the years of 2001 and 2013. Out of those 1,171 cases, 285 patients received a fourth scan. Over half of the patients that received the fourth scan had PET/CTs that were interpreted as positive and resulted in treatment changes for 80 of those patients.

While this is only the first published study with these specific parameters and 55.3% of participating patients died between 2001 and 2013, the initial results do show some benefits of performing four or more PET/ICs after the first phase of anticancer therapy. Understanding how cancer redevelops could help with cancer prevention and even get researchers closer to finding a cure. For now, further research could move the CMS to offer increased coverage or financial reimbursement for more than three PET/IC scans and other long-termed imaging.