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Breast Cancer (Expert Forum)
bone mets diagnosis § pet scan
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bone mets diagnosis § pet scan
by stefc, Nov 10, 2003 12:00AM
Hi,
I have a question about the diagnosis of bone mets. My mom has been cancer free for 5 years and has recently been experiencing some pain in her hip -- what she thought was bercitis. The pain came on fast and is not constant, and is aggravated by exercise (it comes and goes and is more of a sharp pain than a dull ache). She had a pet scan done as follow-up for a separate issue and it showed a spot on the hip with an SUV of 2.5. The preliminary written report from the radiologist said this was not "significant" or something to worry about since it was a dim reading but since she is symptomatic, I imagine her onc will want her to have more testing (MRI, bone scan).
Can anyone shed any light on pet scans and if they are helpful in this arena? One thing she was told is that this spot is on the iliac bone, and is not in the joints where bercitis or arthritis would be. Could the spot on the bone be caused by something other than cancer? If it is cancer, wouldn't it have been "hotter" on the scan?
Any help/advice/experience would be greatly appreciated and thank you in advance for your help.
scm
I have a question about the diagnosis of bone mets. My mom has been cancer free for 5 years and has recently been experiencing some pain in her hip -- what she thought was bercitis. The pain came on fast and is not constant, and is aggravated by exercise (it comes and goes and is more of a sharp pain than a dull ache). She had a pet scan done as follow-up for a separate issue and it showed a spot on the hip with an SUV of 2.5. The preliminary written report from the radiologist said this was not "significant" or something to worry about since it was a dim reading but since she is symptomatic, I imagine her onc will want her to have more testing (MRI, bone scan).
Can anyone shed any light on pet scans and if they are helpful in this arena? One thing she was told is that this spot is on the iliac bone, and is not in the joints where bercitis or arthritis would be. Could the spot on the bone be caused by something other than cancer? If it is cancer, wouldn't it have been "hotter" on the scan?
Any help/advice/experience would be greatly appreciated and thank you in advance for your help.
scm
Doctor's Answer
by CCF-RN,MSN-JS, Nov 10, 2003 12:00AM
Dear SCM, How a PET scan works is that it picks up areas of increased metabolic activity. An SUV unit is not an absolute value, and there are several ways of calculating it. Because of this the interpretation from the radiologist is helpful in terms of what to do next with the information. All types of testing have their positive sides as well as their limitations. A PET scan only gives a certain amount of information and is not very specific, so noting an area with increased metabolic activity may just lead to further investigation. A certain amount of increased activity might be accounted for in an area of inflammation, or recent injury. As recommended, further evaluation with bone scan, x-ray or MRI may be more helpful in determining what the cause of the pain might be. The description of the pain sounds less like a cancer problem, however, further evaluation is needed to be certain, as well as to determine the cause so suggestions for relief of discomfort can be made appropriately.
Member Comments (2)
by omacar, Nov 10, 2003 12:00AM
Pet scans are very sensitive. I had mets to my spine that did not show on bone scan nor cat scan. Mom should discuss with oncologist. I had a mri to the area which confirmed the finding on the pet as mets. Hugs and prayers.
