Do PET scans miss bone mets?

[azgirl]

I was just reading a profile in the "My Story" forum (I'm sorry, I can't remember the name right now...) that indicated her mother had a scan and was told she was stable, then a bone scan revealed she actually had bone mets to her spine and hips. Do PET scans often miss bone mets? I am asking because my mom recently had a PET scan and was told there was no evidence of cancer. However, she has been having terrible back pain for a while now, so I am worried that something may not have shown up on the PET scan. Is that possible? Should she have bone scans for all of her follow-up scans, or are PET scans suffice? She was stage IV with a solitary brain met. that was removed last summer and then she had lung surgery. She thinks that the pain could be lingering from the lung surgery. I don't know what to think but it scares me that something could have been missed. What do you thinK?

Thanks for sharing any wisdom you may have in this area.

Maryea

[SandraL]

hey there. I can attest to the absolute fact that PET scans do not miss bone mets. For me anyhow, mine had been there for awhile. In fact, I think a CT scan prior to PET scan missed them but maybe the tumour was less then. Doesn't mean in your case I wouldn't ask for a CT scan if that hasn't been done in awhile.

Take care

Sandra

[LovesLife]

Maryea - there can be many other reasons for back pain as well - disc issues, etc.

You may want to consider asking Dr. West at www.cancergrace.org and I imagine he can give you more information on this.

Good luck in getting the answer to your question.

Linda

[fillise]

Maryea,

It sounds like you might be talking about my mom. She had a CT scan, which does not pick up bone mets. She was also having back pain so the Onc. ordered the bone scan "just to be sure." I'd say if your mom is having back pain, it needs to be checked out. Whether it is due to mets or to arthritis or osteoporosis, there is no need for her to be in pain!

Susan

[cat127]

I think you will find that most docs would do the full screening at staging - CT, MRI, PET, bone and brain scans. Then follow-up would routinely be a combo of CT one time PET the next time (here in the US anyway). And no more routine bone or brain scans. However, they would be done symptomatically. So while your mother may be right on, that the back pain could be surgery related, it is something she should tell her dr who then may want to get a bone scan for a more accurate reading.

[azgirl]

Thank you all for your always helpful answers. It is so nice to have a community of people so willing to answer questions and help someone they don't even really know!

Maryea

[azgirl]

Susan,

Yes, it was your mom's story I was reading. Thanks for clarifying that she had a CT scan before her bone scan. Thank you for your input.

Maryea

[Wendy]

Hi Maryea,

I wanted to chime in that my mets in my spine & pelvis were caught with my pet scans. Once there was an abnormality noted, I had MRI's to look at the spine closer. Mention it to her doctors if the pain continues so they can investigate it further. My doc has a policy that I am to call her and report anything pain/aches etc. if they don't go away on their own after 2 weeks. Waiting the 2 weeks has helped me not to worry so much.

I have my fingers crossed that mom will be feeling better soon. Keep us posted,

Wendy

[StrahDawg]

When they found my spine met it showed up on the CT and MRI but they said they werent sure so we did the PET and nothing showed up except 1 lymph node that was 2 or 3mm. Not being satisfied they ordered a biopsy in L-2 and it came back positive. So in my case the PET wasn't 100%.