The short answer
The Deauville score is a 1-to-5 visual scale used to standardize interpretation of FDG-PET scans in lymphoma. It compares uptake in lymphoma sites with reference areas such as the mediastinal blood pool and liver. The meaning of a score depends on timing and whether the scan is interim or end-of-treatment.
The Deauville score is used mainly in lymphoma PET response assessment.
It is a 1-to-5 visual scale.
Scores compare uptake in lymphoma sites with reference areas in the body.
Ask how your team interprets the score for your lymphoma and treatment point.
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The whole article, with every detail and caution.
This page is for people with lymphoma, and their caregivers, whose PET scan report gives a Deauville score. It explains each score and why timing matters.
What the Deauville score is
The Deauville score is a simple 1-to-5 scale. Doctors use it to read PET scans in people being treated for lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph system. It measures how much of the radioactive tracer, FDG, has built up in areas of known or suspected lymphoma. That uptake is compared with two reference points inside your own body: the liver, and an area in the chest called the mediastinal blood pool.
Reading the five scores
- 1: no uptake.
- 2: uptake no higher than the chest blood pool.
- 3: uptake higher than the blood pool but no higher than the liver.
- 4: moderately higher uptake than the liver.
- 5: markedly higher uptake than the liver, new lesions, or both.
Scores of 1, 2 and 3 count as a complete metabolic response. That means no active lymphoma is seen on the scan. A leftover mass may still show on imaging. Scores of 4 and 5 at the end of treatment point to lymphoma that is still active.
Why timing matters
The same score can mean different things at different times. On a scan partway through treatment, a score of 4 or 5 with less uptake than before can suggest the lymphoma is responding. Your team may then keep treating. At the end of treatment, a 4 or 5 points to lymphoma that is still active. End-of-treatment scans are usually done about 6 to 8 weeks after treatment ends.
What it does not tell you
A Deauville score is one part of your evaluation. Your team also looks at your symptoms, exam, blood tests and other scans. Ask whether a biopsy is needed to confirm a result. Always know whether your scan was interim, end-of-treatment or later follow-up.
Is this urgent?
The score itself is not an emergency finding. It is a planned part of monitoring lymphoma. Follow up with your oncology team promptly when results are ready. If you feel suddenly and seriously unwell, call your team right away or call 911.
What to ask your team
- What was my Deauville score, and was this an interim or end-of-treatment scan?
- Which scores count as a good response for my treatment?
- Does this score change my treatment plan?
- When will the next scan happen?
Sources
Common questions
Is Deauville used for every cancer?
No. It is mainly used for lymphoma PET interpretation and response assessment.
Does one Deauville score decide treatment alone?
No. Your team interprets it with your lymphoma type, timing, symptoms, scans, and treatment protocol.
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Sources last checked: 2026-10-02 what this meansLast updated: 2026-10-02Next planned review: 2027-07-20
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Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Source checked — This page was written with AI assistance and then compared with the sources listed on it, looking for statements those sources do not back up. That check is not a sentence-by-sentence record and can miss errors. It is not a medical review, and it does not confirm the page is complete or right for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
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