Question by Ruth: what does enhancement mean in, “The 10mm lesion in the right aspect of the T3 vetebral body exhibits enhanceme?
I had breast cancer 6 years ago. Now we are wondering if it has returned in the spinal column, specifically at the T3 level. It could possibly be a hemangioma, but I dont get in to see an oncologist for over 2 more weeks and don’t want to wait that long without at least knowing something more. Note to all, don’t get cancer in the summertime when all the doctors are on vacation. what does it mean “exhibit enhancement”.
Best answer:
Answer by april
It means a suspicious area was found. Did you have a scan with and without contrast? Why would you see an oncologist before a dr to do a biopsy? None of my drs are on vacation and I see my oncologist regularly to go over my scans that are done at the hospital.
Give your answer to this question below!
Enhancement simply means it uptakes injected contrast material – either CT contrast dye, or gadolinium for MRIs, or (usually) FDG for PET scanning. Enhancement in all of these cases would be suspicious for tumour but non-cancerous lesions may exhibit uptake as well – depending upon the lesion and the type of imaging.
For instance usually – but not always – bone hemangiomas will will exhibit enhancement in MR, frequently on CT, but not usually on PET. If the report that you are reading suggests that it could be a hemangioma, then that is definitely possible – in fact, often the radiologist will suggest what he/she thinks is most likely.
I would try not to worry. If there is only a single 10mm lesion found, then it really could be anything and is less likely to be cancer as usually you would find multiple lesions or lesions with aggressive features (which you don’t mention).
Hope this helps.