Private PET-CT scan cost in the UK: 2026 price guide

A private PET-CT combines a radioactive tracer scan with CT to show metabolic activity throughout the body, and is mainly used by cancer teams for staging, treatment response and finding the source of disease.

Providers rarely publish one standard price for PET-CT scan, and we found no list we could verify, so this page avoids quoting a figure. The sections below show what moves the price and how to get comparable written quotes.

You usually fast for several hours beforehand, and diabetics receive specific instructions because blood sugar affects the tracer. After the injection you rest quietly for about an hour before the scan, which then takes some time on the table.

The report is interpreted in the light of your cancer history, so the referring team and the reporter need the same background. Ask how the images and report will be shared with your oncologist.

If two quotes for PET-CT scan differ, the reasons are usually found in the list below rather than in the headline name of the procedure.

• Tracer type: fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) is the most common, whereas PSMA and other specialist tracers cost more and are used for specific cancers.

• Radiopharmaceutical supply: tracers are made in a cyclotron or generator and have short lives, so supply is a major part of the cost.

• Referral from an oncologist: PET-CT is requested for a specific clinical question, so the cost sits within a cancer pathway rather than as a stand-alone check.

• Reporting by specialist radiologists or nuclear medicine physicians.

• Number of centres: few providers have scanners, which narrows competition.

Before comparing totals, compare contents. These are the lines most often included, and the ones most often added afterwards.

Insurers usually cover PET-CT when requested by an oncologist for a recognised indication, with pre-authorisation. Screening for cancer in people without a diagnosis is generally not covered.

Authorisation from the insurer before the date is the safest course, and it is worth asking what happens if the plan changes on the day. Self-pay patients may be able to spread the cost, though any finance is a credit agreement.

The NHS provides PET-CT for defined cancer indications, usually requested by a specialist team, and it is not offered as a screening test.

The NHS sets an 18-week standard from referral to treatment for non-urgent consultant-led care, and in England you have a legal right to choose a provider. Waiting times differ by area and specialty, so ask your GP or the provider about current local waits rather than relying on a national average.

You are asked to avoid strenuous exercise beforehand and to drink fluids afterwards, and may be advised to limit close contact with young children and pregnant women for a short period because of the tracer.

Complications are uncommon for most patients, yet a quote should say what happens if something does not go to plan.

• PET-CT involves a combined radiation dose from the tracer and the CT, so it is used only when the information changes care.

• It can show uptake in inflammation or infection that is not cancer, so a hotspot may lead to a biopsy or repeat imaging.

A lower headline figure can hide extras. Use these questions to make quotes for this procedure comparable.

• Which tracer is being used and why?

• Is an oncologist requesting the scan?

• How are results and images shared with my treating team?

• What other tests might be requested in addition?

• Which fees are fixed in the written quote, and which, such as consultant or anaesthetist fees, might be billed separately?