A brain scan spot that looked like tumor but was a vein
Original title: False-Positive [¹⁸F]FET-Uptake in a Developmental Venous Anomaly: A Diagnostic Pitfall.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
This is a report on a real patient's scan, not a new treatment.
The short version
A harmless tangle of veins lit up on a brain scan and looked like tumor.
What was studied. Doctors report on a 60-year-old person with a brain tumor called glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4, the highest grade. It grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary. The person had surgery, then chemotherapy and radiation. A special scan called FET-PET was used with MRI to check the brain.
What they found. A scan at the seven-month check showed a new bright area at the edge of the surgery site. That area looked like the tumor had come back. A second bright spot showed up in another part of the brain. On MRI, that second spot matched a normal tangle of veins, not tumor.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: A bright spot on this kind of scan does not always mean tumor. Doctors need to compare the scan with the MRI pictures. That helps them avoid calling a harmless vein pattern a tumor.
What it doesn't mean: This is a single patient report, not a study of many people. It does not test any new treatment and it is not a cure. It does not change what care a patient gets. It is a caution for doctors who read these scans.
Source: PubMed, July 20, 2026 · Read the original
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