Please, I know no members of this forum are physicians, but please help me to understand results of this Pet scan


Combined Report of: PET and CT on 9/8/2014 10:20 AM :

1. PET of the neck, chest, abdomen, and pelvis.
2. PET CT Fusion for Attenuation Correction and Anatomical
Localization: Images were evaluated in axial, coronal, and sagittal
planes in bone, soft tissue, and lung windows.
3. Diagnostic CT scan of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis with
intravenous contrast for interpretation.
4. 3D MIP and PET-CT fused images were processed on an independent
workstation and archived to PACS and reviewed by a radiologist.

Technique:

1. PET: The patient received 10.66 mCi of F-18-FDG; the serum glucose
was 102 prior to administration, body weight was 77.7 kg. Images were
evaluated in the axial, sagittal, and coronal planes as well as the
rotational whole body MIP. Images were acquired from the Vertex to the
Feet.

UPTAKE WAS MEASURED AT 60 MINUTES.

2. CT: Volumetric acquisition for clinical interpretation of the
chest, abdomen, and pelvis acquired at 3 mm sections . The chest,
abdomen, and pelvis were evaluated at 5 mm sections in bone, soft
tissue, and lung windows. The patient received 105 cc. Of Isovue 370
intravenously for the examination.
--

INDICATION: Malignant neoplasm of tongue, unspecified site

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM EMR: 57-year-old male with
squamous cell carcinoma of the mouth status post partial glossectomy
and floor of the mouth resection and bilateral supra- myohyoid neck
dissections in September of 2013 presents with new metastatic right
lower lobe lung lesion.

COMPARISON: Neck PET CT from outside hospital 6/3/2014. Chest CT
5/19/2014.

FINDINGS:

TARGET LESIONS: No lesions suspicious for malignancy.

HEAD/NECK:
See dedicated neuroradiology report for the results of the high
resolution PET CT of the neck.

CHEST:
There is no suspicious FDG uptake in the chest.

Heart is not enlarged. No pericardial effusion. Trace right pleural
effusion. No central pulmonary embolism. Right lower lobe wedge
resection changes. Unchanged prominent sized non-hypermetabolic
bilateral axillary lymph nodes.

A few bilateral pulmonary nodules measuring up to 4 mm in the
posterior left lower lobe on series 8 image 130 are unchanged since
the oldest CT from 9/4/2013.

ABDOMEN AND PELVIS:
No suspicious FDG uptake in the abdomen or pelvis.
Gallbladder is partially decompressed. The liver, adrenals, kidneys,
pancreas, and spleen are normal. Bowel is nonobstructed. No
lymphadenopathy.

LOWER EXTREMITIES:
No abnormal masses or hypermetabolic lesions

BONES:
There are no suspicious lytic or blastic osseous lesions. There is no
abnormal FDG uptake in the skeleton. Continued mild scattered
compression deformities throughout the thoracic and lumbar spine.
Continued moderate to severe degenerative changes in both hips greater
on the right.

What does the doctor say? They are the ones that should answer every question until you are satisfied.

The head and neck findings are on a separate report. Otherwise it says nothing suspicious other than a lower lung tumor from electronic medical records outside of where the PET was done.

Thank you, Uptown. The actual doctor appointment is not until Wednesday. We were just able to view the results of the PET scan done today on my husbands's electronic MyChart report. It is just almost impossible to have it available for us to review and not look at it until his actual appointment.

I will keep you posted and thank you for your help.

Often these reports are sealed or marked "Doctor's eyes only" or similar. Mainly because it is unhelpful to have patients taking snippets of information and drawing their own conclusions and getting upset. Getting anxious about these things is entirely normal, but its not at all helpful. Don't go Googling "neoplasm", but I bet you already have. Reading these words in isolation does nothing to help.

Take some solace that it is a thorough and detailed report with plenty of solid indications for the doctor to work on. Let us know how Wednesday goes.

OzMojo,mother trend in the states has been to use portals like MyChart to gain access to communications with the medical team and posting of diagnostic tests directly. The same format as what was posted above is available electronically and also a hard copy at the doctor visit if you request it. The doctor's notes are not given unless you go to the records office and pay money for them. We don't have "For Your Eyes Only" policies any more. It's all transparent between the healthcare provider and patient with access to anyone else through specific releases of information.

Neoplasm isn't a bad thing at all on a scan. The biopsy is the only way to measure that.

There you go. I didn't know that. Googling neoplasm it looked sinister to me. I've demonstrated my own point, Googling words in isolation is fraught with danger!

Some of my scan results were sealed with a sticker saying "only to be opened by referring doctor". They werent all sealed like that, I guess its up to the lab which does the report.

A neoplasm just means abnormal tissue growth. That should spawn a biopsy, especially in "us", but of no concern until they confirm it is malignant or cancer.

From what I read you are looking good. There are a few lesions in the lungs but they have remained unchanged since the last CT/PET so it's highly unlikely its anything to worry about. (scarring? infection? etc..) hopefully you hear the same from your dr.

My interpretation is there is nothing new showing up. Of course, get the straight scoop from the doc tomorrow. Best, Don

Uptown is right a neoplasm is a new (and abnormal growth) but from what I gather reading the report -

it states - INDICATION: (the reason for having the scan) was a neoplasm of the tongue - so it's telling the dr. the reason they were scanning you - was that at one point you had a neoplasm of the tongue - AKA - in your case a cancerous tumor

so this is a past neoplasm not a new one.
basically that part of the report is telling them why you were being scanned. On the actual report part it looks CLEAR as far as I can tell.

hugs - best of luck

Yes, Donfoo, Cheryl and Uptown, you were all correct. Everything is all clear. Thank you all for the support and encouragement. It helps so much to come to this forum, you are all wonderful!!

YEah!!!! ;o)

Great news!

Happy for u I wish u the best on your health and life