For Release: Immediately For more information contact:
Joan Schuman/Joan Schuman Assoc
845.338.2955/jsa@hvc.rr.com

Kingston, NY, May 2008 — According to a study of data from the National Oncologic PET Registry (NOPR) published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO), clinicians changed the intended care of more than one in three cancer patients when they utilized PET scans.

Jonathan Ahmadjian, MD, CEO of River Radiology, said, ”We are pleased to have participated in this innovative project. We are also hopeful that Medicare will look at the study results and increase the now limited PET coverage indications.” River Radiology participated in the NOPR that contributed PET scan data analyzed on nearly 23,000 patients. There were over 1,200 facilities participating in the study.

PET imaging or PET scanning is an imaging test that identifies diseased tissue. It uses a small amount of a tracer which is combined with sugar. This combination is called FDG, so the test is sometimes called an FDG-PET scan. It is used for diagnosing, staging and monitoring the treatment of many different cancers as well as evaluating various neurological and cardiac disorders. At River Radiology we have a combined PET-CT scanner that increases the accuracy of the PET scan.

The NOPR was launched in May 2006 to collect data through a clinical registry to assist in the PET coverage determination decisions for currently non-covered cancer indications. Sponsored by the Academy of Molecular Imaging (AMI) and managed by the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the ACR Imaging Network (ACRIN), the NOPR is designed to collect questionnaire data from referring physicians on intended patient management before and after a PET scan.

As a NOPR participating facility, River Radiology collects from local referring physicians both a pre-PET questionnaire (documenting study indication, cancer type, and anticipated stage and planned management if PET were not available), and one of several post-PET questionnaires that assess the referring physician’s planned management in light of the PET findings.

Analysis of the registry data reported in the JCO article online March 24, 2008 found that PET is associated with a 36.5% change in how to treat a patient’s cancer. Cancer types Medicare currently covers for reimbursement only through NOPR include those of ovary, uterus, prostate, pancreas, stomach, kidney and bladder. (For a complete list of NOPR covered cancer types and indications, go to www.cancerpetregistry.org. Also, you may contact Barbara Robbins at River Radiology 845.853.4500.

NOPR has formally requested a reconsideration of the current National Coverage decision on PET and to end the data collection requirements for diagnosis, staging and restaging. Medicare will review the published data and determine the next steps related to reimbursement for PET scans now only covered through the NOPR.