Does anyone know what it means when an oncologist says a particular area lit up as 10's on a PET scan?

The area he's referring to is all the lymph tissue in the mediastinum (area between the lungs). He also said they're hot and ready to go. Please respond only if you have knowledge or experience related to this unfortunate experience. Thanks

Know what this person is going through. Know DRS just throw stuff out and think they're speaking plainly, and we understand.
Had 2 PETs, they couldn't determine if something showed, so I'm stuck in limbo.
I won't say what i think i know, because it could be wrong.
YELL AND SCREAM if you need. I'll yell with you.

If your doctor is speaking jargon, just ask him to put it in regular terms. Don't be embarrassed. It is your health, and your life, so you deserve clear and accurate information. If a doctor is in a hurry or forgets to clarify, make them slow down. You (or your insurance) are paying the big bucks, and the doctor doesn't want to have to spend that on malpractice suits. So save yourself the confusion call in and ask.

Positron emission tomography (PET) allows the imaging of structures by virtue of their ability to concentrate specific molecules that have been labeled with a positron-emitting isotope usually positron-emitting isotope of fluorine, (18)F-2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-glucose (FDG). Metabolically active cells, including malignant cells, utilize and import more glucose than other tissues and thus take up FDG more avidly.

Any process within the body that needs more glucose will light up on a PET scan, so yes to cancers as well as other processes.

False-negative results can occur with tumors that have low metabolic activity (eg, bronchioloalveolar tumors, carcinoids, and some well-differentiated adenocarcinomas), small lesions (a critical mass of metabolically active malignant cells is required for detection by PET), and uncontrolled hyperglycemia because the uptake of FDG is retarded by the hyperglycemia. False-positive results can occur in inflammatory conditions and granulomatous diseases as well as infections.

All that being said, when you have a PET scan done, the areas on your body that light up are measured and compared against each other by quantiying how much of the FDG has been taken up. The higher the amount the higher the number of SUVs (standard uptake value); and, I suppose, the "hotter" they are.

So, 10 SUVs is rather high. Now, I am being perfectly honest with you. SUVs above 2-3 are more consistent with a malignancy (though not always so), though as I states above, an active infection could also elevate the SUVs. I would say that if you haven't spoken with your physician, now would be a good time. The only way to diagnose the cause of your "hot" lymph nodes in your mediastinum would be a biopsy of the "hot" tissue unless your history and physical exam obviously point toward something else.

Good luck to you, and let me know if you need anymore info.

Physicians are here to serve you. You pay their bills and make them rich. You are their boss, in the end, no matter what they make think or how they may act. Sometimes, you have to remind doctors about that fact.