I was hoping to publish an editorial by a renowned overseas expert in 
the field of PET-CT; this has not been possible but I hope it will appear 
in the next issue of the SAJR.

Developments around PET-CT are of critical importance to state-of-
the-art medicine in this country. I experience a feeling of déjà vu when 
I hear that South Africa cannot afford technology of this nature. Ten 
years ago, I had to counter such arguments against magnetic resonance 
– and today there is universal agreement that MRI is probably the 
most efficient and cost-saving modality in medicine. Gone are the days 
of extended hospitalisation for diagnostic ‘tests’. Non-acute patients 
are diagnosed on an outpatient basis, and it may be an interesting 
calculation to identify the effect that this has had on the budgets of 
medical aids and state hospitals.

We are now hearing that PET-CT is finding it difficult to survive. 
There are even prognostications that PET centres may have to close 
down and that the modality may disappear from the diagnostic scene 
in this country – regressing us to past times when a 1cm node spells 
malignant and a 9 mm node is debatable. I intend to continue this issue 
in the next edition of the SAJR, when we can weigh the consequences 
against the perspective of an objective editorial of international authority 
in the field of cancer therapy. But at this point, it’s enough to state that if 
this modality disappears from the South African scene, it will probably 
not return for a decade or more. I believe that this would be disastrous 
for everyone in the field of cancer diagnosis and therapy.

Thanks to Savvas Andronikou for conceptualising and compiling 
RADIOACTIVE NEWS. This is a news forum for South African 
Radiology, and I welcome contributions from the Society, College and 
all our university departments.

PET-CT meltdown is 
looming

Jan Lotz
Editor-in-chief

EDITORIAL

26         SA JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY • July 2008

PET.indd   26 8/1/08   2:35:30 PM