Does metastatic breast cancer always show up on PET scans?

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LM

Community Member

2 months ago

Hi everyone. I have metastatic invasive lobular breast cancer. I just had colonoscopy and EGD And they have found my cancer in my stomach. The gastroenterologist was flabbergasted said she never heard of such a thing. After procedures she say I was good, showed me pictures of stomach and said I biopsy these white spots but I don’t think it’s cancer. I’m just wondering if anyone has my cancer had all their cancer show on pet scans? I’m just wondering if it’s been there all this time or if it’s new. I don’t think PET scans work well on this cancer because it grows in single file.

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Accepted Answer

PET scans can sometimes miss invasive lobular carcinoma because this type of cancer tends to grow in a scattered, single-file pattern that may not always show up clearly on imaging. Many patients with this specific type of breast cancer have experienced similar situations where metastases were found in unexpected locations that weren't detected on previous scans. Finding cancer in the stomach, while uncommon, has been reported with invasive lobular carcinoma, so the gastroenterologist's surprise is understandable but this isn't unheard of in the medical literature. Has anyone else in the community had experience with lobular cancer appearing in unexpected places or not showing up well on PET scans?

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LH

Community Member

2 months ago

My liver metz was found via an echocardiogram it caught part of my liver. After that they did a PET scan and found it in my spine also. I wasn't symptomatic so without that echo I wouldn't be here.

CA

Community Member

2 months ago

PET scans can sometimes miss invasive lobular carcinoma because this type of cancer tends to grow in a scattered, single-file pattern that may not always show up clearly on imaging. Many patients with this specific type of breast cancer have experienced similar situations where metastases were found in unexpected locations that weren't detected on previous scans. Finding cancer in the stomach, while uncommon, has been reported with invasive lobular carcinoma, so the gastroenterologist's surprise is understandable but this isn't unheard of in the medical literature. Has anyone else in the community had experience with lobular cancer appearing in unexpected places or not showing up well on PET scans?

Does metastatic breast cancer always show up on PET scans?

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