A positron emission tomography, or PET, scan is an imaging technique utilized by radiologists to capture a three-dimensional image of the body's major organs, including the heart and brain, according to the Mayo Clinic. They are particularly useful in detecting cancerous masses.
Identification
"Hot spots" is a term used to describe areas of bright spots that appear on a PET scan when cancerous cells are present.
Significance
Only malignancies will cause hot spots to appear on a PET scan. The hot spots will show if cancer has spread throughout the body or returned after a remission.
Time Frame
According to RadiologyInfo.com, a PET scan test can take about two hours and involves an intravenous injection of a small dose of radioactive material.
Did You Know?
The brightness of a hot spot can determine the amount of metabolic activity inside the organs, and is measured by using a standardized uptake value (SUV).
Famous Ties
In the spring of 2007, in a story carried by Fox News, Elizabeth Edwards announced that a few new hot spots had been detected on a PET scan, indicating that her breast cancer had spread to her bones.
Tags: appear scan, cancer spread
