My dad who is extremely fit aklthough 86 had a PE 8 weeks ago and we have just been told that it was due to Lung cancer - the PET scan showed hot spots in the liver, intestine and spine. Lung Biopsy last thursday showed non small cell carcinoma. Saw the medics yesterday and they say it is not operable because of the metastases. How can they be sure that the hot spots are die to secondary deposits? Surely we need histology to be sure. It is a massive shock and i do not want to put him through unnecessary investigations but what if these are not secondary deposits and we miss an opportunity for surgery - does that sound stupid. The consultant would not even have this discussion with me.
Hello,1) Presence of biopsy proven primary tumor in lung (non-small cell carcinoma) with lesion in liver and spine indirectly suggest that these lesions are from primary tumor until prove otherwise.2) Such lesions uptake contrast agent and based on value of this uptake it can be differentiated from inflammatory (benign) lesion to malignant (tumor) lesion.3) Yes, In advanced stage with widespread metastasis to different organs, surgery is not recommended for removal of primary tumor due to very high chance of re-appearance of tumor after surgery from cancer cells present in blood.