Positive CT, Negative PET for liver cancer

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My mom had a whipple in June 2011 for a tumor in her bile duct, followed by 6 mos. of chemo as a precaution with no sign of cancer as of January. Two weeks ago she had a CT for a 3 mos. checkup and was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer and immediate talk of aggressive chemo. They then sent her for a PET scan which showed no cancer at all. Her ultrasound is next with a biopsy next week. What are we to expect? The doctor is baffled and doesn't know what the CT showed. Anyone have a similar scenario? Could it be cysts? Do we rely more on the PET than the CT? Thank you.

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Shitulpatel

In my opinion the pet shows the metabolic uptake which determines if it is cancer or dying or dead tumours.

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Aoife

She will probably need a biopsy to see what is going on. I am a 5 year survivor of oesphageal cancer but at my 18 months post surgery CT I had things on my liver. It turned out that I have sarcoidosis (I had a negative PET afterwards but it was the biopsy that confirmed it).

I really hope that you get the same diagnosis for your mummy.

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Carrielynne

Thank you for this insight. The ultrasound showed nothing today as well in comparison to the CT scan. Wouldn't that be a great thing if it is something along these lines vs the initial diagnosis.

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Carrielynne

Just a quick update to say that no cancer was found! The CT showed fatty tissue in her liver that resulted from the chemo. So, we are very thankful and a bit miffed at the doctor who presented her the terrifying news in this manner rather than in a more cautionary way. Lessons learned, and we'll hope we don't go down this path again! Thank you!

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