Lung Nodule

My father is a 59 year old former smoker - he quit 2 months ago. He has COPD and a small nodule was discovered on his lung. His GP thinks it may be a granuloma but he sent him for a CT Scan.
His CT Scan came back inconclusive - due to the COPD, he has swollen lungs and the CT Scan was not useful.
He is sending him for a PET scan.
Does this mean that the nodule is cancerous and the PET scan is staging the cancer...or does it mean that the pET scan will determine if the nodule is cancerous.
I am confused and worried.
Thanks

[Kamal S Saini, MD, MRCP (UK), DM]

Hi,
Since your father is a former smoker, it is prudent to follow up on the incidentally discovered lung nodule even in the absence of symptoms.
There is currently no evidence of lung cancer. PET scan is a metabolic scan that maps out the chemical activity of the body structures, unlike a CT scan which is an anatomic scan which maps out the structure of the body parts. The CT found a nodule, and the PET will determine if the nodule is metabolically active or not, and if there are other areas in the body showing metabolic activity. Activity could be due to several reasons, including cancer and infection.
If metabolic activity is seen, then a CT guided FNAC or biopsy would be the next step.
However, as I mentioned, there is currently no evidence of cancer.
All the best, and God Bless!

[sabrinab06]

I should add - the doctor thinks thta the mark looks like pneumonia...yet he has no signs of pneumonia.

[sabrinab06]

The PET scan was clear.
The doctor still thinks it could be an infection. he gave him another X-ray and asked to see him in 6 weeks...to see if there has been any change.
Does this sound right?

[Kamal S Saini, MD, MRCP (UK), DM]

Hi,
I am glad to hear that the PET showed no signs of cancer.
A course of antibiotics followed by repeat imaging is a standard way to approach a lung nodule.
By the way, do you know the size of the nodule?