POSSIBILITIES OF EARLY DETECTION OF BRAIN CANCER USING POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY

Abstract

This paper examines the capabilities of positron emission tomography (PET) in the early detection of brain cancer. PET is one of the most advanced and effective functional imaging methods in modern medicine, allowing visualization of metabolic processes at the cellular level. Unlike conventional diagnostic tools such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which reveal only structural changes, PET provides insight into biochemical and metabolic activity using radiopharmaceutical tracers like ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose (¹⁸F-FDG). Since cancer cells consume glucose much more actively than normal tissues, PET images display tumor sites as regions of increased brightness. The study explores the physical principles of PET, the use of radiopharmaceuticals, and the technological structure of PET systems. By analyzing clinical data and comparative results, the research demonstrates PET’s superior diagnostic accuracy-95% for tumor detection and 92% for early-stage identification-compared to CT and MRI. The development of hybrid systems such as PET/CT and PET/MRI has further enhanced diagnostic precision by combining anatomical and functional information. Despite certain limitations, including high cost and the short half-life of isotopes, PET remains the most reliable and sensitive technology for the early detection and monitoring of brain cancer.