Question 1

pet scan show hot spots in lymph nodes. is this definately cancer?

Accepted Answer

Maybe: Pet activity correlates with sugar utilization, and increases can be seen in malignancies, but also other inflammatory and infectious conditions.

Question 2

how does pet scans work when detecting possible lymphoma? does "hot spots" mean malignancy?

Accepted Answer

No: A hot spot means an area of increased sugar utilization. Can be inflammatory, infectious or malignant.

Question 3

i had a pet scan done and the doctor said there was a hot spot on the left side of my throat. that was in august of 2020. since then i have been experiencing severe pain on the left side of my neck, shortness of breath and severe hoarseness. advice?

Accepted Answer

: See a Dr on Monday for an oral exam to see what is going on.  Do not delay. If you chew or smoke stop now.

Question 4

are bright orange spots on pet scan cancer?

Accepted Answer

Tricky: Not all cancers are bright on pet scans and not all bright activity in a pet scan is cancer. Inflammation/infection can also show bright activity.  Pet scans are performed in conjugation with ct (pet/ct) and though pet is great for detecting metabolism, its specificity is not as great. Reading a pet requires care/skill. Normal activity is seen in the brain, heart, liver, spleen, kidneys, bladder.

Question 5

whats more important having brest removed for precaution or having biopsy of thyroid nodule. pet scan showed high probability for positive. nodule growled 7mm-11mm in 5 months. auxiliary has spots that glowed as well. which should i do first?

Accepted Answer

: You need a good oncologist who can guide you further.
In general, Thyroid nodules are less serious than Breast Cancer.
You will likely need a biopsy of both areas, starting with a check of the axillary nodule that is showing up in the PET scan. You do not need removal of your breast, a Needle biopsy of the beast abnormality can be done quite easily if you first  go to a Cancer treatment Center

Question 6

i have a benign lung parenchyma with fibrosis, chronic and focally acute inflammation. i previously had a pet scan that lit up two spots in my lungs.  what does this all mean?

Accepted Answer

: The lit up spots meant that these are metabolically active areas and not inert scar tissue. A pulmonologist  would have to determine the significance or nature of these active processes and advise you about treatment, if any, &amp; appropriate follow-up.

Question 7

pet scan in jan 2013 showed 4 cancerous nodules in lungs from breast cancer. new pet scan july 2013 - lung spots no longer metabolically active; does this mean they are no longer cancerous?

Accepted Answer

Biopsy: The only way to determine that this is actually metastatic breast cancer would be to perform a biopsy and evaluate if that tissue is breast carcinoma. A pet scan just shows an increase in cellular glucose utilization, but does not tell you anything about the cell type.

Question 8

what can a pet scan show?

Accepted Answer

Functioning: It is a functional test and shows which parts of the body are using the most glucose. This is an indirect measure of how active the cells are.

Question 9

should a pet scan show any cancer?

Accepted Answer

Metabolism: A pet scan is a measure of brain areas metabolism.  Brain tumors have a unique metabolic picture and alter the normal metabolic pattern of the affective area.

Question 10

what part of the body does a whole pet scan show?

Accepted Answer

Eyes to thighs: Even though the study is called whole body pet/ct, most often the image acquisition is from the eyes to thighs. The parts of the body that are included varies from center to center and also depends on the patient's symptoms and cancer histopathology. For e.g. Melanomas can metastasize anywhere in the body and thus real whole body scans are obtained (skull vertex to toes).

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Doctor answers about:

Pet scan shows hot spots

A member asked:

Pet scan show hot spots in lymph nodes. is this definately cancer?

A member asked:

How does pet scans work when detecting possible lymphoma? does "hot spots" mean malignancy?

A member asked:

I had a pet scan done and the doctor said there was a hot spot on the left side of my throat. that was in august of 2020. since then i have been experiencing severe pain on the left side of my neck, shortness of breath and severe hoarseness. advice?

A member asked:

Are bright orange spots on pet scan cancer?

A member asked:

Whats more important having brest removed for precaution or having biopsy of thyroid nodule. pet scan showed high probability for positive. nodule growled 7mm-11mm in 5 months. auxiliary has spots that glowed as well. which should i do first?

A member asked:

I have a benign lung parenchyma with fibrosis, chronic and focally acute inflammation. i previously had a pet scan that lit up two spots in my lungs. what does this all mean?

A member asked:

Pet scan in jan 2013 showed 4 cancerous nodules in lungs from breast cancer. new pet scan july 2013 - lung spots no longer metabolically active; does this mean they are no longer cancerous?

A member asked:

What can a pet scan show?

A member asked:

Should a pet scan show any cancer?

A member asked:

What part of the body does a whole pet scan show?

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