PET/CT vs. PET scan

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kae_md99
kae_md99 Member Posts: 621

HI all,

can you tell me the difference between a Pet Scan alone and Pet/CT in detecting for possible spread of cancer?also,can Pet scan see any possible bone mets or should a bone scan be ordered?ty



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  • MinusTwo
    MinusTwo Member Posts: 16,634
    edited January 2017

    I'm not a fan of Dr. Google, but this is one of those questions that you can research if your doc hasn't explained the difference. Here you go. I always had a PET/CT. Note - this is a 2012 article.

    http://www.oncolink.org/frequently-asked-questions...


  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited January 2017

    PET without CT is older technology and as the info linked by minus above points out, without the CT overlay you get no anatomic structure imaging with the PET only. If PET/CT is unavailable you can actually have both PET and CT separately, and they can be combined but it is problematic as unless you are in exactly the same physical position for the overlay you may not get as precise an image, and this is hard to do if you are moving from one machine to another. This is the benefit of having a PET/CT machine which does both types of imaging simultaneously. Bone scans can produce false positives in some instances because they will highlight anything bone related, previous fractures or benign bone lesions. My MO prefers PET/CT for whole body imaging, with MRI confirmation for any suspected bone issues. Good luck!

  • kae_md99
    kae_md99 Member Posts: 621
    edited January 2017

    thanks ladies!

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