Mayo Clinic's approach

Collaboration

Mayo Clinic radiologists work with your healthcare team to use PET scan results to develop a treatment plan that is right for you.

State-of-the-art technology

Mayo Clinic campuses in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota have state-of-the-art PET scanners. Some of the machines are combined PET and CT scanners, which produce clearer and more detailed images. Mayo Clinic also combines PET and MRI scans in some situations.

Innovation

Mayo Clinic was the first place the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved to make choline C-11. Mayo Clinic uses it in PET/CT scans to help find prostate cancer that has come back, especially when other imaging tests do not show clear results.

Expertise and rankings

Experience

Mayo Clinic's radiology teams perform many PET scans each year and are specially trained to read the results. Combined with ongoing research and education, this experience helps them care for children and adults with many types of conditions.

Advanced diagnosis for prostate cancer

Mayo Clinic offers the choline C-11 PET scan to help find prostate cancer that has come back after treatment, also called recurrent cancer. Mayo Clinic was the first to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make choline C-11 for this type of imaging. A choline C-11 PET scan may be used when other imaging tests have not helped find the cancer.

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, are ranked among the Best Hospitals for cancer by U.S. News & World Report. Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, is ranked as the top hospital in Minnesota and Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, is ranked as the top hospital in Arizona.

Locations, travel and lodging

Mayo Clinic has major campuses in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; Jacksonville, Florida; and Rochester, Minnesota. The Mayo Clinic Health System has dozens of locations in several states.

For more information on visiting Mayo Clinic, choose your location below:

Costs and insurance

Mayo Clinic works with hundreds of insurance companies and is an in-network provider for millions of people.

In most cases, Mayo Clinic doesn't require a physician referral. Some insurers require referrals or may have additional requirements for certain medical care. All appointments are prioritized on the basis of medical need.

Learn more about appointments at Mayo Clinic.

Please contact your insurance company to verify medical coverage and to obtain any needed authorization prior to your visit. Often, your insurer's customer service number is printed on the back of your insurance card.

More information about billing and insurance:

Mayo Clinic in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota

Mayo Clinic Health System

Clinical trials

Explore Mayo Clinic studies of tests and procedures to help prevent, detect, treat or manage conditions.

May 05, 2026
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  11. Datta D, et al. Diagnostic performance of F-18 FDG PET/CT in differentiating autoimmune pancreatitis from pancreatic cancer: A systemic review and meta-analysis. Annals of Nuclear Medicine. 2024; doi:10.1007/s12149-024-01934-4.
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  13. Carlson DM, et al. Baseline characteristics and use of pretherapeutic 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose-PET for pancreatic cancer. Journal of the American College of Surgeons. 2024; doi:10.1097/XCS.0000000000001059.
  14. Evangelista L, et al. The role of FDG PET/CT or PET/MRI in assessing response to neoadjuvant therapy for patients with borderline or resectable pancreatic cancer: A systematic literature review. Annals of Nuclear Medicine. 2021; doi:10.1007/s12149-021-01629-0.
  15. PSMA PET scan for prostate cancer. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/psma-pet-scan/about/pac-20582225. Accessed March 27, 2026.
  16. Fendler WP, et al. PSMA PET/CT: Joint EANM procedure guideline/SNMMI procedure standard for prostate cancer imaging 2.0. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. 2023; doi:10.1007/s00259-022-06089-w.
  17. Radiation dose. RadiologyInfo.org. https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/safety-xray. Accessed March 27, 2026.
  18. Voter AF, et al. A practical guide to the pearls and pitfalls of PSMA PET imaging. Seminars in Nuclear Medicine. 2023; doi:10.1053/j.semnuclmed.2023.11.001.
  19. Samim A, et al. SUV normalisation and reference tissue selection for [18F]mFBG PET-CT in paediatric and adult patients. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. 2025; doi:10.1007/s00259-025-07242-x.
  20. Choline C-11 PET scan. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/choline-c-11-pet-scan/about/pac-20384628. Accessed March 30, 2026.
  21. FDA approves 11C-choline for PET in prostate cancer. Journal of Nuclear Medicine. 2012; 53:11N.

Positron emission tomography (PET) scan