PET-CT reporting, by nuclear medicine physicians

5C Network reports PET-CT studies remotely for centres across India through its Nuclear Medicine Centre of Excellence, led by Dr. Ajit Shinto. Every FDG, PSMA and DOTA PET-CT is read and signed by a credentialed nuclear medicine physician, structured to PERCIST, Lugano, PSMA-RADS or SSTR-RADS as the case needs, and delivered at one of three depths: standard, comparison and response, or tumour-board-ready.

Clinical lead: Dr. Ajit S. Shinto · Updated 24 September 2026

PET-CT studies we report

FDG PET-CT

Whole-body oncology: staging, restaging, surveillance and response assessment

PSMA PET-CT

Prostate cancer, reported with PSMA-RADS

DOTA / SSTR PET-CT

Neuroendocrine tumours, reported with SSTR-RADS

Cardiac and brain PET-CT

Regional FDG studies for the heart and brain

What a good PET-CT report answers

A PET-CT report answers three questions for the treating team: how much disease there is and where, whether it has changed since the last scan, and what should happen next. A report that only lists hot spots leaves the oncologist to do that work.

The Centre writes to those questions. The level of detail depends on who will read the report, from a diagnostic centre's referring physician to a hospital tumour board.

Why remote PET-CT reporting works

PET-CT reads well remotely: the study is digital, the prior studies travel with it, and the interpretation needs a specialist, not someone standing at the scanner. What is scarce is the specialist. India has more than 500 PET-CT scanners and about 800 nuclear medicine physicians. A remote model lets one national panel serve centres that could never hire a nuclear medicine physician full-time.

Three levels of PET-CT report

Level	Best for	What the report contains
Standard report	Diagnostic centres	Whole-body PET-CT read by a credentialed nuclear medicine physician Staging, restaging and surveillance studies Clear impression written for the referring clinician
Comparison and response report	Hospitals	Everything in the standard report Side-by-side comparison with the previous study and report Response assessment against the relevant criteria (PERCIST, Lugano and others) Staging written to the criteria that apply to the cancer (TNM, Lugano, FIGO)
Tumour-board-ready report	Oncology hospitals and cancer centres	Everything in the comparison report Response criteria laid out in a table, study against study Comparison images with headers a tumour board can read at a glance Confidence language for borderline lesions and an overall study-quality note The questions the tumour board will ask, answered in advance: which site to biopsy, what a finding changes, what to do next

Response criteria, by cancer

PERCIST: Metabolic response of solid tumours on FDG PET-CT
Lugano / Deauville: Staging and response in lymphoma
PSMA-RADS: Prostate cancer on PSMA PET-CT
SSTR-RADS: Neuroendocrine tumours on somatostatin-receptor (DOTA) PET-CT
TNM / FIGO: Anatomical staging written into the report, by cancer type

AI decision support for lesion tracking, SUV quantification and response assessment is being built into the read. It assists the physician, who reads and signs every report. 5C claims no regulatory clearance for nuclear medicine AI.

Frequently asked questions

Who reports PET-CT scans at 5C Network?

Credentialed nuclear medicine physicians in 5C's Nuclear Medicine Centre of Excellence, led by Dr. Ajit Shinto. PET-CT is not reported by the general radiology network.

Can 5C report PSMA PET-CT?

Yes. PSMA PET-CT for prostate cancer is reported with PSMA-RADS, covering staging, restaging and response assessment, with a view on eligibility for PSMA-based therapy when it is relevant.

Can 5C report DOTA / Ga-68 DOTATATE PET-CT?

Yes. Somatostatin-receptor PET-CT for neuroendocrine tumours is reported with SSTR-RADS, including a view on whether the disease is a candidate for receptor-targeted therapy.

What is a tumour-board-ready PET-CT report?

The most detailed level. On top of staging and comparison, it lays out response criteria in a table, includes comparison images with clear headers, uses explicit confidence language for borderline lesions, notes study quality, and answers the questions a tumour board will ask, such as which site to biopsy.

Does the report compare with previous scans?

Yes. The comparison and tumour-board-ready levels compare with the previous study and report, and assess response against the relevant criteria, such as PERCIST for solid tumours or Lugano and Deauville for lymphoma.

How do we send PET-CT studies to 5C?

Over standard DICOM from your scanner or PACS, with the clinical history and any prior studies. Use the form on this page and the team will set up the connection.

Also see gamma camera and SPECT reporting, and Dr. Ajit Shinto's profile.

Send us your PET-CT studies

Tell us where to reach you — a 5C radiology consultant responds within one business day.