A Carbon-11 Methionine PET Scan Can Confirm Remission with Dr Toshihiko Sato

A scan that can’t wait sounds like science fiction until you hear the numbers: carbon-11 has a 12-minute half-life, which means a carbon-11 methionine PET scan has to be made onsite, injected fast, and run immediately or the signal can vanish. That time pressure is exactly why we traveled to Japan to talk with Dr. Toshihiko Sato at the Utsunomiya Clinic, where they produce specialized PET radiotracers and perform total-body methionine PET imaging that many hospitals simply can’t offer. 

We get into what methionine PET shows that a standard FDG PET (glucose PET) may miss, and why “we think” isn’t good enough when you’re trying to confirm whether cancer is truly gone. We also talk through the practical reality of running these scans, from the onsite cyclotron to the tight workflow that keeps results reliable, plus how other tracers differ in half-life and use cases across neurology and oncology. 

Then we zoom out to the bigger theme: metabolic cancer therapy as an add-on to standard care. We share how methionine restriction, methioninase, and carefully chosen combinations with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy can change outcomes, including our own stage IV story that leads to complete remission verified by imaging. If you’ve ever wondered whether nutrition, metabolism, and precision diagnostics belong in the same treatment plan, this conversation will give you new questions to ask. 

If this helped you, subscribe, share it with someone navigating cancer decisions, and leave a review so more people can find these tools and discussions.

Intro for podcast

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_01 0:10

Well hello and welcome to the Healthy Living Podcast. I'm your host, Joe Grumbine, and today I have a very special guest with me. His name is Dr. Toshihiko Sado, and he operates from the Yitsunomiya Clinic in Japan. And Dr. Sado, you're a pioneer. Well, I I I you did some things that nobody else in the world seems to do. And and you work with a technology that is unique to this clinic. Maybe you could tell me a little bit about your work.

Unique PET Tracers Built Onsite

SPEAKER_00 0:46

I am an ideologist and uh uh I'm operating uh a pep center. We made uh FDG and the next ion and uh FLD for Parkinson's disease and amyloid pet for Alzheimer's disease, and uh PSMA pet for uh prostate cancers. I mean uh uh operating these uh studies for uh prestigium uh uh cancer treatment.

SPEAKER_01 1:24

And and this is something that is pretty not widely recognized in the world. I've been around many oncologists in the last year, and I talk about you know methionine restriction diet, methionine is even the the methionine PET scan, and the doctors don't know about it. And they say, I don't know.

Metabolic Therapy And Methioninase

SPEAKER_00 1:50

We are live about pale pm forty eastern earlier. Many uh oncologist uh doesn't interest it in a metabol metabolic uh metabolism therapy eight pm on a CPM uh poly at uh a circulated poly lactate for blocking uh cancers at the glycolysis. And mescyanin, uh mesanase mesionine is a dog broke uh thousands of like sorry mesionine uh mesanase methaniumase, uh broken uh meshyanase, uh no methagonase.

A Stage Four Remission Story

SPEAKER_01 2:45

Right cancellers and I I've been working with this for almost a year and a half with Dr. Hoffman and uh this this treatment is amazing. I mean, I was able to take a low methionine diet and methioninase and some chemotherapy and take a stage four uh very aggressive cancer, and today we found out that we're in complete remission.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

Ah yes, congratulations.

Why Methionine PET Feels Definitive

SPEAKER_01 3:15

And and I came all the way to Japan to their clinic because in the United States there's nothing that will do the full body methionine PET scan the way yours does. I'm interested in sharing this information because I think I had a regular MRI, a glucose PET CT, and they always say, well, we think but with this technology, it's very certain. And I w what is your thoughts? I I I want people to know that this is very important, and if you if you don't uh treat a cancer to where you know it's finished, it can come back. And this is a good way to and maybe the only way to know for sure.

SPEAKER_00 4:07

Okay. Allowed to uh brain cancer. Brain tumor, but uh your whole cancer is not for uh heard of so allowed allowed uh but uh I think forty years brain tumors in brain tumor uh depend uh addiction addiction and uh called the Hoffman effect. Right Hoffman effect. Yes. I think also other uh cancers are not must be uh Hofmann effect. So okay. So I uh try to uh scan rather total body for uh meximan impact. Right now. I was I I I could have uh uh to complete site for the uh cancers and impact.

Cyclotron Timing And 12-Minute Half-Life

SPEAKER_01 5:31

Now the the one of the struggles that you have is glucose radio radio tracer has a long life. So they make it somewhere and then they shift it to the hospital, and it lasts, I don't know, weeks or what however long, but the methionine tracer very short lifespan. So you actually have the cycloton that that that changes the methionine to the radioactive tracer right here on the on the in the clinic. Yes, and that's very unique, and and and it's it's important because when they gave it to me, they ran the tracer, and then all of a sudden they brought me in and put it in and then right over to the to the scanning machine because you have to go very fast, otherwise you don't get the right answer. And I think that you know that's what makes this clinic so special, I think, is that you have the equipment, you have the people that are able to do the work and you understand the technology. And how many people are you able to treat with this this this particular methane pet?

SPEAKER_00 6:47

We're investing the pelican spots. We'll love that one. Don't worry about this. We we we reoperate to four times uh a month. Four times a month as well. And uh uh you'll find their own medical two patients.

Other Tracers And Their Half-Lives

SPEAKER_01 7:10

Wow. So I got one of eight appointments for the month of April. I feel very honored and blessed. I um and these other tracers that you made, did they have short lifespans too, or are they different like the glucose? Uh for the for the Parkinson's and uh the other the other tracers that you make.

SPEAKER_00 7:35

Because when it's your money, 18 F the floor, right? And uh into it by the way, uh same like the resolve FMT and uh I mean and uh yeah only PSMA pending uh sixty-eight PM. Okay half time is one hour.

SPEAKER_01 8:10

Okay, so it's longer than the methane, but not much longer.

SPEAKER_00 8:13

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 8:14

It still has to be done right there.

SPEAKER_00 8:15

Yes. Carbon eleven half time is uh 12 minutes.

Forty Years In Radiology

SPEAKER_01 8:20

Wow, yeah, yeah, that's that's what we're gonna go real fast. I I I understand that in other clinics where they've tried this, they waited too long and then the results came back negative, but there was cancer because they waited too long and it was already gone. I I'm interested in in your background, how long have you been working in radiology? Forty years, wow. You look very young. I uh and in and in this, when did you discover the interest in this technology?

SPEAKER_00 9:03

I do five years ago, okay. I meant to Dr. Hoffman. Uh-huh.

Expanding Access For Advanced Cancer

SPEAKER_01 9:13

Okay. Wow. And so do you think I mean it seems to me that if the rest of the world could catch up and see the importance of this technology, maybe many people would live. I understand that you are looking at moving forward in developing a clinic to help stage four cancer patients. You want to tell me a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_00 9:39

Okay, five oh six, I think. I think so it's good in the code, it's a f eighteen with ionin. If mate and dog any uh everywhere, any answer hospital take that examination.

SPEAKER_01 10:30

And do you think like the you you understand the value of the low methionine diet, and the value of methionine is working with other standard of care treatments, like in my example, we worked with chemotherapy, sometimes they work with radiotherapy, sometimes they work with immunotherapy combinations. But the methionine restriction in the body, working with these other tools seems to make them work so much better. And even in times when they might say, Well, we can't help you anymore. Is that your thought? Is that maybe we can develop the the technique of adding these layers to help people that maybe we couldn't help?

SPEAKER_00 11:22

We are operating in uh uh screening ink uh radiotherapy and uh combination with uh immunotherapy, uh so called uh immunolidotherapy. Okay, uh and uh also combine the low mesh ionic diet and mesh ionase and uh uh low ketone diet with CPM. Okay. So uh I will recommend uh I will uh uh I I I recommend the patient uh the approve status. Self-medicate sounds uh no no no I I recommend the patients with CPM and uh cyanase with uh ketone diet and the plomesanin diet or self-medicates.

Why High-Protein Keto Can Backfire

Results Scarring And Closing Thanks

SPEAKER_01 12:26

Right. And it's funny because in the world right now they always talk about high protein and high ketone, and if you have cancer, it's the worst thing you could do. And I that's what I was doing. I was I lost a bunch of weight, and I was you know doing the keto diet, eating all this fish and protein, and then I met Dr. Hoffman and I've changed everything. But but in my personal experiences that what you're saying works. And I I I hope we can get people to listen and understand, and uh I'm gonna put this out there so people can know your clinic and maybe maybe reach out and and you know find the answers that they need. Uh Dr. Sandra, I'm very, very pleased, and thank you for taking the time to to spend a little bit with me. And most importantly, thank you for taking the time to perform this service.

SPEAKER_00 13:20

Yes, thank you. This is F T and Exign. Oh, accumulation means uh ska. Yes. So you uh uh you are three to meant this completely.

SPEAKER_01 13:38

I have a little bit of scarring, but we're okay with that. I don't mind a little scarring. Well, thank you so much. I feel this is uh the way I traveled to Japan was to find this out, and I am so happy and uh so grateful to know you. Congratulations. This has been another episode of the Healthy Living Podcast. I'm your host, Joe Grumba, and I want to thank all of our listeners for being making this possible. And thank you, Dr. Sayo, for joining us today.

SPEAKER_00 14:05

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 14:06

All right, perfect. That's it. We're we're gonna release that. I'll send you a link to the to your email when I publish it.