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If a body scan says that someone has a tumor, what is the likelihood it won't be there when doing a rescan?

Let's say someone goes to the doctor's, they recommend a body scan, and the technicians say that there is a dangerous tumor. Then that person goes in for a follow-up scan a little later and it shows that there is no tumor? How likely is that to happen? How often does that happen?

Public Comments

1. Don't know an exact number, but the rate of false positives in PET (I'm assuming that's what you mean by body scan) is probably in the 10-30% range, depending on what you are looking at, the experience of the radiologist reading it, and who you ask. That's why you should only order a PET scan when you have a real suspicion that there is something to find. If you get PET scans on everyone, you will end up on a lot of wild goose chases.