PET Scan Hot Spot in Chest

I have had BC 2 times in 06 and in 07.  In 06 I had a PET scan and found a hot spot in chest area.  The hot spot in under the implants.  My oncologist feels it is just an infection or scar.  I had chemo from Sept 07 to Jan 07, just finshed.  Just had a PET scan - the spot was still there but now it's smaller.  He said not to worry.  He wants another scan following radiation to look at the spot again.

Question - does anyone know more about this?  Can an infection or scar highlight on a PET scan and stay hot for years?  It has been a year and the spot is still hot - but smaller.  Do they get smaller?  

I will keep up on this spot and ask more questions to my radiation doctor next week.  I trust my onc.  But I wanted to hear from others and see what you think!

Thanks.

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

A PET scan is not a very good diagnostic modality for breast cancer. The reason is the high rate of false positive results.

It is important to correlate the results clinically and with the mammogram and USG findings.

Your oncologist would be the best person to tell you when to worry about a PET scan coming out positive.

It would also be best to know that even an increased activity or metabolic rate can cause increased uptake on the PET scan, so infection and scar tissue can definitiely be the cause of the hot spot.

Do discuss this in detail with your doctor.
Hope this helps.
Good luck.

[nanabowen]

I have a tumor in lung that showed hot on pet scan and also a hot spot on hip.  could this be cancer?

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

The description you provided is limited. However, you can refer to the post above and note that the PET scan may not provide an indication whether this is a cancer or not. It will only be clear on examination and perhaps more testing to find out if this is due to cancer or not.

You can talk to your doctor who will be able to provide more information on this matter.

Regards.