In an effort to scale back use of high-priced imaging of questionable value in cancer treatment, Medicare has proposed ending reimbursement for post-treatment positron emission tomography scanning in prostate cancer patients and limiting its use to one scan for most other cancer indications.
Use of the technology, which involves injecting F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) into the blood so the PET scan can identify regions of heightened metabolic activity, a sign of cancer metastasis, has grown sharply in recent years. The CMS, in giving preliminary approval to payments for the technology in 2005, required manufacturers and radiologists to establish a registry to monitor outcomes from its use.
