PET SCAN and infection

[Jenniferp2122]

hi everyone- sorry for my follow up question but I wanted to ask. Has anyone’s PET scan ever had uptake that was just infection and not cancer? (Picked up as a hot spot accidentally)

My dads pet scan results this morning showed uptake to the right chest wall. Ironically I’m pretty sure he has had some upper respiratory infection brewing because he had a cold with cough and yellow phlegm production. I’m not sure if he has something upper respiratory going on that could have manifested this uptake. Please let me know if anyone has experienced this. Thank you so much.

[SabaAK]

Hi Jennifer.

My mom had breast surgery last year,they removed the tumour and a month after the surgery she had a PETscan and there was some uptake with SUV 2.3 on surgical site and also a lil bit on chest wall and on her report it was stated post surgery infection…

Saba

[Jenniferp2122 in reply to SabaAK]

my dad's wasn't stated as infection but the thing is he didn't tell anyone prior to the PET scan about his potential upper respiratory infection so Idk if that would have changed how the radiologist interpreted the results no doctor called us yet to discuss anything. we are anxiously waiting

[SabaAK in reply to Jenniferp2122]

I know ,that waiting time is like torture:((. But maybe it’s a good sign that they haven’t called yet. I remember my mom’s first PETscan,we were supposed to have appointment a week later but received the call from doctor 3 hours after PETscan. I hope it’s just an infection.

[Jenniferp2122 in reply to SabaAK]

I really really hope so. We meet with the doctor on 7/11.

[SabaAK in reply to Jenniferp2122]

Hi Jennifer,how are you? Have you guys met with doctor?

[Jenniferp2122 in reply to SabaAK]

we just left doctor. Basically the NP doesn’t think that the lymph node SUV 5.6 max is from his infection. She thinks it’s progression to the right chest wall but they don’t want to change any treatment because he is stable everywhere else. She wants to re scan in 2 months. Not sure if this has happened to anyone else

[SabaAK in reply to Jenniferp2122]

Uptake of 5.6 is a lil bit high. My mom condition was different, even at her initial diagnose with MBC her lung nodules (which we were told was metastatic)SUV was 0.7 max and 1.2max and back then I didn't even know what was SUV and didn't even look it up, even though I did full research about her condition and was asking so many questions and was aware of everything related to her diagnose, for some reason I didn't even look at that SUV, and she was having CTscan after the initial diagnose in 2021. I did ask her doctor for repeat PETscan and she stated that there is no need for that, that she is stable and no changes, well, I insisted on Petscan and she agreed. After the PETscan I've noticed that lungs are still there and PETnegative with no SUV,so it did catch my attention and I was like let me check what is SUV in Petscan and guess what I was able to find all the information and also finding the information about indication of malignancy in SUVs more than 2.5. So I contacted her doctor right away and I explained all my concerns, I said that her breast tumor was 7.8 SUV which is clearly malignant but what about those little SUVs like 0.7 or 1.2 could that be just infection or inflammation, I also state that my mom never had CTscan of lungs just X-rays and there were not able to locate with Xrays,even now her Xrays is always clean, I did also mention that I've heard that lung nodules is very common and most of people don't even know about them throughout their lives. They never did biopsies of her lung nodules because they were so little. So in total 7 small nodules, 2 of the did light up with very small SUVs. So long story short, after my concern they did go over her images again and decided to do a surgery and remove the breast tumor. The pathology report after the surgery state stage 1 breast cancer with clear margins and clear lymph nodes, so God knows if it was metastatic or not, but they decided to stop the Ibrance and keep her only on letrozole. She did 2 petscans after that and it was still negative, will have another one at the end of month, hopefully still negative

[Jenniferp2122 in reply to SabaAK]

thank you so much for thinking of us

[SabaAK in reply to Jenniferp2122]

♥️

[Aprilfoolz1]

a couple of years ago I had my quarterly petscan 2 weeks after my first Covid vaccine . That scan showed slight FDG uptake in both right and left axillary nodes under my arms. It was decided it was inflammation from the vaccine. It wasn't there next scan and since I have had vaccines spaced out months before any scans .

I hope your dad's oncologist calls soon. I have scans coming up on 7/11 and see my oncologist on 7/13 for review.

Keep us posted , ok ?

[Jenniferp2122 in reply to Aprilfoolz1]

that makes me feel better I will keep you posted. Thank you

[Jenniferp2122 in reply to Aprilfoolz1]

I hope your scans go so well. I will be thinking of you!

[Andersl]

What does the report say?

[Jenniferp2122 in reply to Andersl]

it says “suspicious for metastastic disease” because in both of his previous 2 PET scans he was NED and the radiologist compared this scan to the previous ones. The thing is though- my dad never told anyone that he wasn’t feeling well and had this potential upper respiratory infection with cough and cold. I’m not sure if the radiologist would have interpreted things different knowing that.

[Andersl in reply to Jenniferp2122]

Did your dad have an infection confirmed by a doctor?

[Jenniferp2122 in reply to Andersl]

no he never went to the doctor but I’m a registered nurse and know that coughing up yellow phlegm is indicative of infection

[Andersl]

In the past when I've had a respiratory infection whilst being scanned I've not said anything for fear of influencing the report. Sounds like your dad did the same. On that occasion the abnormality had disappeared by the next scan. Thus possibly indicating it was to do with the infection

On another occasion it became clear that an abnormality they had been following for six months was indeed metastatic disease.

I hope you and your dad don't have to wait too long for the report findings.

Best wishes x

[Jenniferp2122 in reply to Andersl]

Thanks so much. I'm really not sure what the plan will be. It is localized to the right chest wall area. No doctor has called us yet so we are just a little confused/ concerned