My younger brother a couple of years ago had a pet scan.
If something lights up on a pet scan is it cancer.
Since the doctor said those areas lit up on the pet scan it would probably indicate that the cancer is still active in those areas.
Cancer tends to be more active thus it lights up on a pet scan but there are a number of other things that light up just like cancer.
With cancer cells they appear as bright spots due to its higher metabolic rate compared to normal cells.
However not all pet positive lesions are cancer and in many instances pet findings can be false positive.
The pet portion of this imaging modality relies on the accumulation of radioactive glucose analog fdg.
Steph pet scans see metabolic activity not cancer.
A pet scan will help detect cancer and show how far it has spread.
Very intense brightness is usually cancer but this is only one of.
Inflammation as you mentioned also sarcoidosis an autoimmune disease that usually starts in the lungs.
In cancer cells there is an overproduction of glucose transporters and as a result increased fdg uptake.
If a lesion lights up in the lung it s rapidly dividing cells and it may be cancer although sometimes infections in the lung can cause the pet scan to light up and even changes after radiation treatments can cause a pet scan to light up.
They got his mixed up and told him that he had lung cancer and didn t do a biopsy and took out 1 3 of his lung.
Hot spots on a pet scan can be caused by things other than cancer.
One is 11 mm and growing fast and the other one is 8 cm mass.
Infections and healing wounds are just a couple of things that light up on pet scans.
The brightness you mention on pet is caused by metabolic activity and any trauma can cause an increase in metabolic activity.
In some instances cancers may not show on the scan.
I had my pet scan done on monday and found out today that i have to have a lung biopsy.
Other things can cause a high suv however like infection or tissue damage like maybe from radiation.