| April 26, 2001
University of Pennsylvania Cancer
Center Forms Strategic Alliance with Integral PET Associates
to Create Network of PENN PET (Positron Emission Tomography)
Centers
PHILADELPHIA, PA - The
University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center and Penn's
Department of Radiology have joined with Integral PET
Associates, LLC, the nation's leading operator of fixed-site
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanning centers,
to make one of the most advanced cancer diagnostic tools
available to community hospitals throughout Eastern
Pennsylvania and New Jersey. This strategic alliance,
called the PENN PET Program, will create the nation's
largest network of PET centers supported by an academic
cancer center, marking a major introduction of PET technology
into community-based cancer treatment. Integral PET
will manage the sites, while Penn radiologists interpret
the PET scans and oversee the medical aspects of program.
One of the first and largest cancer networks of its
kind, the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Network
(UPCN) is comprised of 28 hospitals and a large medical
oncology network. Current plans call for opening up
to seven PET centers at community hospitals in the UPCN
within the next six months. Each of these PENN PET centers
will have fixed PET scanners. Future sites may have
fixed or mobile scanners, depending on patient demand.
"A primary goal in forming the Cancer Network has
been to transfer advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment
to the community setting as quickly as possible,"
said John H. Glick, MD, director of the University of
Pennsylvania Cancer Center and professor of Medicine
(Hematology/Oncology) at the University of Pennsylvania
School of Medicine. "PET has shown its diagnostic
superiority to other modalities currently in use, and
now, through our relationship with Integral, we have
the ability to work with our hospital and physician
colleagues to bring this capability to their patients."
"Integral PET has a proven track record of being
able to cost-effectively install and operate top-quality
PET Centers," stated Ronald Lissak, President and
CEO of Integral PET. "We've created a proven model
of how to successfully build and operate PET centers
in a community, while seamlessly integrating PET with
other diagnosis and treatment services. With this new
initiative we're meeting our goal of bringing PET to
patients."
Because of its unique ability to measure metabolic activity,
PET can lead to accurate, noninvasive detection and
staging of many cancers, including: lung, melanoma,
lymphoma, esophageal, colorectal, breast, thyroid, ovarian,
cervical, endometrial, pancreatic, testicular, brain,
head and neck. Until recently, PET imaging has largely
been available only at major academic institutions.
Significant cost and operational factors, coupled with
the need of physicians experienced and trained to read
and interpret PET scans, have previously hampered its
availability to cancer patients outside of major research
institutions. Installing and operating a PET scanner
typically costs around $1,600,000 in up-front capital
costs, plus an additional $800,000 in yearly staff and
operational costs.
The combined alliance between Penn and Integral addresses
all the complex educational, financial, medical, functional
and operational concerns that are needed to install
and operate a state-of-the-art PET center in a community-based
setting:
*Experts from Penn's Nuclear Medicine/PET division
will perform readings, ensuring optimum imaging;
*Integral will assume equipment and construction
costs, and the responsibility for installation, maintenance
and technical operations, eliminating capital and start-up
cost constraints for participating hospitals;
* Referring physicians and patients will have
immediate access to top-quality PET services in convenient
locations;
*Continuing educational conferences will ensure
community hospital radiologists and referring physicians
are always up-to-date on PET technology;
* Hospitals will have the opportunity to participate
in Penn's radiology clinical trials program in order
to bring leading-edge imaging to each hospital.
The University of Pennsylvania has a long history of
involvement in the development of PET and in research
on its benefits. Dr. Abass Alavi, Penn's chief of Nuclear
Medicine, will lead the PENN PET Center physician team.
Considered one of the nation's leading PET researchers
and clinicians, Dr. Alavi has authored over 400 original
papers, 115 book chapters, editorials and reviews, and
close to 500 abstracts.
Over the past 25 years, PET has steadily proven its
diagnostic superiority. "PET can often identify
areas in which cancer is present even before there are
changes visible on computed tomography (CT) or magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI), which are anatomic studies
rather than metabolic like PET," explained Dr.Alavi.
"The scan can also readily differentiate between
areas that may show up as a mass on a CT or MRI, but
which are scar tissue and not malignant. PET may also
reveal evidence of treatment response before structural
improvements are seen on CT or MRI."
A patient receiving a PET scan today is injected with
a radiopharmaceutical, such as flurodeoxyglucose (FDG),
about 45 minutes before the scan, which takes about
two hours. The radiopharmaceutical tracer emits signals
which are then picked up by the PET scanner. A computer
reassembles the signals into images that display the
distribution of metabolic activity as an anatomic image.
Areas in which cancer is present will show up more brightly
on the scan because the disease is more metabolically
active than non-cancerous cells. These results help
physicians determine if a cancer has spread, if a particular
treatment is effective, and if a patient is disease-free.
About the University of Pennsylvania
Cancer Center
Throughout its history, the University of Pennsylvania
Cancer Center has been continuously recognized regionally
and nationally for its contributions to patient care,
research, professional education, and patient and community
outreach. The Cancer Center is one of only 37 Comprehensive
Cancer Centers approved and designated by the National
Cancer Institute. It was among the first cancer centers
to receive this prestigious designation, and has maintained
this status continuously for nearly 30 years. Information
about positron emission tomography, as well as the PENN
PET Center Program, will soon be available to patients
and health care professionals via Oncolink, the University
of Pennsylvania Cancer Center's web site at http://www.oncolink.upenn.edu
About Integral PET Associates, LLC
Integral PET Associates is located in New York City
and currently operates eight fixed site PET centers
in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Washington,
DC. It is the nation's largest operator of fixed-site
positron emission tomography scanning centers. For more
information, go to http://www.integralpet.com.
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