Question 1

Do pet scans show lung cancer?

Accepted Answer

Pet scans utilize a special sugar molecule or glucose, and attaches a harmless piece of radioactivity to it (fdg).  The FDG is taken up by metabolically active tissue, and glows on imaging.  Often tumors or lung cancers are metabolically active.  A pet scan can be fused with a ct scan, and if a suspicious lung mass on ct scan is metabolically active by pet, it may indicate it is a lung cancer.

Question 2

How often do you need to use pet scan or bronchoscope to locate lung cancer because it does not show on ct scan but symptoms tell you to keep looking?

Accepted Answer

This pathologist is underwhelmed with the health or public benefits of intensive screening for tiny lung cancers. I'd hope that if the person is symptomatic, some other investigations are undertaken and the actual cause gets found.

Question 3

Life expectancy for lung cancer gone to brain. pet scan shows no other cancer now, only 1 tumor on brain. surgery and whole brsin radiation will be?

Accepted Answer

Many factors are involved: age, immune system, type of tumor, gender in certain cases, type of chemotherapy , compliance among many others. Your oncologist is the best guide.

Question 4

Radiology
does a pet scan have a much better chance of picking up a central lung cancer if it was missed at ldct? 
thank you

Accepted Answer

noncontrast lung nodule screening study, and it is possible that small central lesions may not be visualized due to proximity to normal blood vessels or other structures.  PET is extremely sensitive, but if a diagnostic contrast enhanced CT scan with thinner collimation and higher resolution is negative, probably unnecessary.

Question 5

Can pet scan always diagnose /confirm presence of lung cancer or can only give indication and later biopsy is vital to confirm cancer if a nodule seen?

Accepted Answer

A positron emission tomography (pet) scan is an imaging test that uses a radioactive substance called a tracer to look for disease in the body.  It is often used to determine the treatment of cancer, if it is spreading, or improving, etc.  Used in combination with tests such as ct or mri, it can provide a very high index of suspicion for cancer, but a bx is always definitive and used for tx.

Question 6

What test is best to rule out lung cancer or lukemia ? mri with contrast or pet scan ? been having heavyness weak pulse for 6 months

Accepted Answer

The best test to screen for lung cancer,in my opinion, is a chest ct scan as a conventional chest xray can miss it. A simple blood test, cbc and differential, is adequate to screen for leukemia. These are screening tests but a tissue diagnosis is required in most cases for a definitive diagnosis. Your pulse description is nonspecific. An MD can check your bp  and pulse to look for abnormalities

Question 7

My mom has stage 4 lung cancer. the pet scan showed 3 lesions by the spine. does this mean the cancer has spread to her bones?

Accepted Answer

different than on or in the spine.Ask her Docs for specifics.

Question 8

Since pet scan shows only one area of lung which is very suspicious for malignancy, does that mean if it's cancer that it hasn't metastasis? thank you

Accepted Answer

A PET scan will pick up Cancer at all sites. It looks like that your Cancer(if it is confirmed with a biopsy) is still localized to the lung alone(No metastases).

Question 9

5cm pleural mass in right lung..pet scan show not cancer...is surgery still necessary and what are the risks ..thanks?

Accepted Answer

Something is missing! There must have been symptoms that led to a pet scan. Unless a biopsy was performed how could your doctor simply say that there was no cancer? I hope there was indeed no cancer but the symptoms that led to the pet scan should be a cause for biopsy. Do the doctors have any idea what the pleural mass might be? Please keep me informed.

Question 10

Would a body scan show lung cancer?

Accepted Answer

A question of the form can A show B is almost always answered maybe, because you cannot completely exclude the possibility that it may or may not demonstrate the finding in question.

also a mass has to have at least 1,000,000,000 cells before it is visible on a contemporary scan.

Do PET scans show lung cancer