Assessment of heart function with positron emission tomography (PET) imaging: comparison to conventional cardiac gated blood pool scanning

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The study is comparing two techniques to assess heart function in patients referred to the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged 18 years or above and have been referred to the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute for assessment of heart function. Why might this test be needed? A "cardiac gated blood pool scan" (CGBS) is a commonly requested to scan to identify problems with your heart function. Impaired heart function can be a serious adverse effect of chemotherapy and other new anti-tumour agents. Depending on the type of treatment you are receiving, it is therefore important to identify any damage to the heart following treatment or to check heart function before starting treatment. If damage is found, the dose of your treatment may be reduced or a different type of treatment may be chosen. How is the standard test performed? The conventional test is a nuclear medicine imaging test which involves labelling blood with a radioactive substance, and then measuring the amount of blood in the heart during different parts of the heart beat. A special camera, called a gamma camera, measures activity in the heart which is matched (also called “gated”) to your heart rhythm. This test is called a “cardiac gated blood pool scan” (CGBS). The amount of blood being pumped out of your heart, called the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), can then be measured. How is the new test for this study performed? The new test is performed by labelling your blood with a different radioactive substance, called gallium-68. This enables images to be obtained on a newer type of camera, called a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner. What are the potential advantages of this new test? The PET scanner produces three-dimensional (3D) images of higher quality and in a shorter amount of time than the conventional test. How might this study contribute to patient care? The knowledge acquired from this study will be used to validate this new test. If we can demonstrate that it is at least as good or better than current technology, it may replace the existing test in the future. Trial details. This study aims to recruit 40 patients. Both the conventional and new CGBS will be performed in each patient, and the results compared. The new test involves an additional scan performed in a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner. Images of you heart will be performed for 5-10 minutes after being positioned on the bed of the PET scanner. The new scan will be performed shortly after the conventional scan.

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