Q. Can liver metastasis be confirmed in a CT scan?

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Yes, CT (computed tomography) scan can detect suspected primary tumor or metastasis in the liver. However, it is not confirmatory, a biopsy is needed to say its malignant origin if the primary tumor is not already found in other organs.

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

Yes, his oncologist is correctly saying to go for a PET (positron emission tomography) scan which are carried out safely prior to any surgical interventions either diagnostic or for therapeutic purposes like fine-needle aspiration biopsy, surgical resection respectively. CT scan or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) can indicate the anatomic location reliably but to say functional state of the lesion (either benign or malignant) PET scan is required.

If the lesion is malignant, it will lit up under a PET scan. Apart from diagnosis, this modality can also be used as an adjunct in staging cancer. A combined CT and PET scan is commonly used for detecting liver malignancies and metastasis. But biopsy is considered as the last option if other modalities fail to prove.

Radiologist could have given his opinion if your father was diagnosed with any other primary malignancies like colon cancer priorly (thinking that metastasis could be a possibility) or by comparing with the previous imaging study report (like CT scan). Hence, I would advise you to follow the advice of your oncologist who is approaching in the right direction.

I hope this helps.

Same symptoms doesn’t mean you have the same problem. Consult a doctor now!

Dr. Narayanasamy Senduran

Experience: 12 + Yrs

General Practitioner

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