How do I read a PET scan report?

PET scans are very similar to CT (computed tomography) scans in that they provide detailed images of the body. However, unlike a CT scan which shows the size and shape of organs and tissue, PET scans provide data at the cellular level, indicating with pinpoint accuracy the exact location of the issues with the body.

What is normal SUV range on PET scan?

SUVavg for the liver should be in the range of 1.6–2.5 [23]. In clinical practice, the most commonly used measure of lesion uptake is SUVmax.

What does the uptake number on a PET scan mean?

The standard uptake value (SUV), also known as standardized uptake value, is a simple way of determining activity in PET imaging, most commonly used in fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) imaging. It is also known as the dose uptake ratio (DUR).

What is PET scan reading?

PET scans are a type of test that create 3 dimensional (3D) pictures of the inside of your body. PET stands for positron emission tomography. The PET scan uses a mildly radioactive medicine to show up areas of your body where cells are more active than normal. It’s used to help diagnose some conditions including cancer.

What is normal lung SUV?

A weighted average calculation including the data from two previously published studies from other labs show the average mean SUV of normal lung parenchyma to be 0.52 (n=279).

What is a high SUVmax?

Patients with a high SUVmax (>or=13.4) had a significantly reduced disease-free survival rate compared to patients with a low SUVmax (P=0.021). In addition, the SUVmax (>or=13.4) was a significant independent predictor of recurrence of cervical cancer after treatment with surgery (+/-adjuvant therapy) (P=0.0207).

Do all cancers show up on PET scan?

Not all cancers show up on a PET scan. PET scan results are often used with other imaging and lab test results. Other tests are often needed to find out whether an area that collected a lot of radioactive material is non-cancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant).

What cancers show up on a PET scan?

PET scans can show solid tumors in the brain, prostate, thyroid, lungs, and cervix. The scans can also evaluate the occurrence of colorectal, lymphoma, melanoma, and pancreatic tumors. They are also used to assess if treatment is being effective in eliminating cancer.

What does it mean when lymph nodes light up on a PET scan?

PET scans detect the rate at which cells are using sugar. When the scan lights up brightly, it means there is metabolic activity. Most aggressive cancers light up brightly, but the caveat is inflammation in the body also lights up because inflammatory cells are also metabolically active.

What do black spots on a PET scan mean?

Tissue that has a high rate of metabolism and a high consumption of sugar appears as especially dark spots on black-and-white PET images, and on color images as especially bright spots.

What size tumor can a PET scan detect?

Modern clinical PET scanners have a resolution limit of 4 mm, corresponding to the detection of tumors with a volume of 0.2 ml (7 mm diameter) in 5:1 T/B ratio. It is also possible to obtain better resolution limits with dedicated brain and animal scanners.

Will benign tumors show on PET scan?

A PET/CT test helps diagnose cancer and gives more information, including whether a tumor is benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous), whether the cancer cells are active or deceased, and how well the cancer is responding to treatment.

Will an infection light up on a PET scan?

PET scans light up areas of high metabolic activity that are not necessarily cancer, including areas of inflammation, infection, trauma, or recent surgery.

Does multiple myeloma show up on a PET scan?

F-FDG PET/CT is commonly used for the detection of myeloma bone disease and extra-medullary sites of metabolically active myeloma foci with relatively high sensitivity and specificity. Furthermore, follow-up PET/CT scans can be used to monitor treatment response and are of prognostic value for survival [1-3].

Does lymphoma show up on a PET scan?

Unlike other imaging technology, such as a CT scan or an MRI, a PET scan can definitively show if the lymphoma is still active because it reveals chemical activity within tissues and organs. For example, a patient with Hodgkin lymphoma may have a mass develop as part of the disease.

Will scar tissue light up on a PET scan?

Scar tissue and tumors that have responded to chemo or radiotherapy do not use much energy and are not seen on the PET/CT scan. Cells and tumors that are growing or active use a lot of energy and are seen as a bright area on the PET/CT scan.

Can a PET scan show a false positive?

In cancer cells, there is an overproduction of glucose transporters and, as a result, increased FDG uptake. However, not all PET-positive lesions are cancer, and in many instances, PET findings can be false positive.”

What cancers do PET scans not detect?

On the other hand, tumors with low glycolytic activity such as adenomas, bronchioloalveolar carcinomas, carcinoid tumors, low grade lymphomas and small sized tumors have revealed false negative findings on PET scan.

What causes hot spots on PET scans?

Areas of the body that use a lot of glucose, such as the brain and heart, will pick up this radioactive material and appear hot. Abnormal cells in the body that use a lot of glucose will also appear as “hot spots.” Cancer cells are highly metabolic and use a lot of sugar.