positive PET scan but negative MRI--TWICE

rhinodoc
rhinodoc Member Posts: 2
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

Following surgery and radiation for throat cancer, I had a PET with a bright spot (4.6 SUV) but the MRI did not pick up any mass.  Now, 4 months later, the PET is showing the bright spot at 6.1 SUV but the MRI still shows nothing.  What is going on?  What should my plan be to find out if this is a cancer spot?  The spot is located 2 cm above my collarbone, so it didn't receive a heavy radiation dose (the primary tumor was at the base of tongue, with some lymph node metastases on one side.)

thanks!

Comments

  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    edited October 2016 #2
    Get a biopsy....

    This happened to me about a year ago....the MRI didn't show anything but teensy growth in a lymph node by my collarbone.  My ENT asked me if I wanted a biospsy in August, and I said no....in October, it had grown a teensy bit more, so we did biopsy it, and it came back positive for cancer.  I got a neck dissection in November....and had 25 more rads (because like you, the radiation target was below the line of rads the first go-round)...no chemo.  Treatment was easy peasy this time.  They are scanning me every three months now, but so far I've been NED....have another scan next month.

    GET A BIOPSY!!!

    p

  • rhinodoc
    rhinodoc Member Posts: 2
    #3
    phrannie51 said:

    Get a biopsy....

    This happened to me about a year ago....the MRI didn't show anything but teensy growth in a lymph node by my collarbone.  My ENT asked me if I wanted a biospsy in August, and I said no....in October, it had grown a teensy bit more, so we did biopsy it, and it came back positive for cancer.  I got a neck dissection in November....and had 25 more rads (because like you, the radiation target was below the line of rads the first go-round)...no chemo.  Treatment was easy peasy this time.  They are scanning me every three months now, but so far I've been NED....have another scan next month.

    GET A BIOPSY!!!

    p

    Can't biopsy!

    Because the MRI is coming back completely negative, there is no info on what to biopsy! Not even a teensy growth in a lymph gland!  Doc says they can't biopsy somethng they can't see....what do I do?  You mentioned they are scanning you every 3 months...PET or MRI, or both?

  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    edited October 2016 #4
    Positive PET with Negative MRI

     

    While at MDA in Houston I had the same problem with a few of my PET and MRI scan. I am NPC and what I understood my lead doctor saying is sometimes the dead cancer cells can show as active cancer on the PET scan. Because all you have is radiation riding on the back of the sugar water to where there is cancer cells and sometimes the dead cell will absorb the sugar water. Best I can remember.

     

     

     

    Tim

     

  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    #5
    rhinodoc said:

    Can't biopsy!

    Because the MRI is coming back completely negative, there is no info on what to biopsy! Not even a teensy growth in a lymph gland!  Doc says they can't biopsy somethng they can't see....what do I do?  You mentioned they are scanning you every 3 months...PET or MRI, or both?

    Ok....I think you

    said you're just barely out of treatment (to me, that's anything under 8 or 10 months)....as long as they're watching you close...and they do watch close the first year....you will be alright.  After reading Hondo's post...and realizing you're still in the healing phase, this "bright light" is probably dead cells in the lymph system.  There are many people who get false positives on the first PET after treatment. 

    I was three years out of treatment when they found the cancer in my lymph node.

    p

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