Petscan Question

[Cristinpaige]

I’m currently in treatment for my first recurrence. I finished 4 cycles of Carbo and Doxil and just had a petscan to see how chemo is working. My CA125 is continually going down each month as well. My scan shows an increase in my mass by 1 cm but my SUV uptake has decreased. I was told that a mass can increase due to cell debris dying off ???? Is this true ? I feel like the chemo is working but the word increase bugs….. I don’t talk to my oncologist till next week before chemo #5 so I’m hoping someone here has some insight or has gone through something similar. Thanks 😊

[delia2]

Hi. I didn’t have the exact same situation but at the end of frontline I had a 3 cm lymph node which looked alarming on a CT scan but on PET it had low suv and it turned out to be detritus from the dead cancer cells. How low was the suv on the PET? For me that’s the best test but I have only had three of them in four years. That shows how active the cancer is. Here’s hoping it’s all good. Also fyi I had remaining cancer after my carbo/doxil (caelyx) and Olaparib got rid of it. Xx

[Cristinpaige in reply to delia2]

hi…. Thanks for your reply. My SUV originally was 11.7 and now it’s 8.2. I spoke to the nurse yesterday and she told me she feels the doctor will have me do more than six cycles. She said it’s a good scan because it shows that the chemo is working because there is no new growth which made me happy because I was scared it wasn’t working. When I’m done, I will be put on Zejula for three years. After Frontline, I was on Lynparza for two years. I recurred 6 months later. When you were put on Doxil was it for your 1st recurrence ?

[delia2 in reply to Cristinpaige]

Hi. Yes doxil and carbo for first recurrence. I recurred nine months after frontline (with no maintenance). I’ve now been on Olaparib for 31 months and still ned. Your progress sounds good! Xx

[Cristinpaige in reply to delia2]

31 months ?!?! That’s amazing !!!! ❤️

[Seedlings in reply to delia2]

Hi Delia,

I was just reading your story, and I’m wondering are you Braca negative?

[delia2 in reply to Seedlings]

I am but my tumor is somatic brca1.

[Seedlings in reply to delia2]

Thanks Delia.

[Kblaisel]

I have also been told that necrosis in the center of my 4 affected lymph nodes causes them to look bigger on a scan, but this may not indicate cancer progression in them.

[Cristinpaige in reply to Kblaisel]

thank you for your reply. I was told by someone that when a cancer mass (mine is a mass) dies off it breaks apart and that makes it bigger. I’m hopeful that’s what’s going on with me being that my SUV number was lower and my 125 is going down

[Pooshon]

sorry to be ignorant but could I ask what the SUV number is please, I haven’t come across it.

[Cristinpaige in reply to Pooshon]

you’re not ignorant. I have no idea what it is either. I only know the lower the better.

[delia2 in reply to Pooshon]

Standardized Uptake Values. It indicates how quickly the cells are consuming the glucose that is being traced by the radioactive stuff they give you an hour before the test. Cancer cells grow and replicate fast and therefore consume a lot more glucose than regular cells.

[Cristinpaige]

So that number going down is a good thing ? Even though the size of the mass increased? Someone on another site told me it can appear larger as it’s dying because it’s breaking apart and there’s debris. I don’t know if that’s true but it sounds good 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Rosebine2]

I had a CT scan that said mass had increased but suspected it was necrotic tissue, and when I had my op that turned out to be the case