Should PET Scanning Replace Current Malignancy Screening Methods in Dermatomyositis?

Because cancer is present in roughly 20% of patients diagnosed with dermatomyositis, most authorities recommend cancer screening at diagnosis and for some period thereafter. The most effective means of discovering malignancy in these patients is not yet established.

The authors collected data from three teaching hospitals in Barcelona, Spain, on the use of [¹⁸F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) screening for all patients with newly diagnosed inflammatory myopathy. They excluded patients with previous cancer, those with active infection that might affect scanning, and those for whom additional scans were medically contraindicated. PET scanning found a malignancy in 9 of 55 patients; 8 of the 9 had de…