Anthony Ciarallo

Spectrum of Malignant Pleural and Pericardial Disease on FDG PET/CT

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this article is to illustrate a wide spectrum of malignant primary and secondary pleural and pericardial diseases imaged with (18)F-FDG PET/CT. CONCLUSION A wide variety of malignant pleural and pericardial diseases can be detected, staged, and monitored by FDG PET/CT. Although the PET/CT findings are often nonspecific, the aim of this atlas is to show that the spectrum of pleural and pericardial disease that can be evaluated with PET/CT is much broader than current literature would suggest. PET/CT readers and oncologists should be aware of the wide variety of malignancies that can affect the pleura and pericardium and some of the patterns of FDG uptake that can be observed in these cases.

Malignant perivascular epithelioid cell tumor (PEComa) of the uterus: serial imaging with F-18 FDG PET/CT for surveillance of recurrence and evaluation of response to therapy.

Abstract: This is a case of a 52-year-old woman who underwent a hyster-ectomy to treat a large uterine perivascular epithelioid cell tumor. She wasfollowed with serial F-18 FDG PET/CT scans due to positive surgicalmargins and vascular invasion on pathology. Initial surveillance PET/CTperformed 6 months post surgery was negative; however, a second surveil-lance PET/CT performed 12 months post surgery showed an intenselyFDG-avid recurrence in the pelvic surgical site. The patient received localradiotherapy, 2 cycles of taxol and carboplatin, and was placed on imatinibmesylate (Gleevec). A final PET/CT performed 6 months after initiation oftherapy showed rapidly disseminating metastatic disease and the patient died1 month later. This rare report highlights a potentially new utility of F-18FDG PET/CT for surveillance of recurrence of a malignant uterine perivas-cular epithelioid cell tumor, as well as for evaluation of response to therapy. Key Words: malignant perivascular epithelioid cell tumor, PEComa,uterus tumors, FDG, PET/CT(

Histiocytic sarcoma involving lymph nodes: imaging appearance on gallium-67 and F-18 FDG PET/CT.

This report of an 82-year-old man who presented with a 3-week history of an enlarging left axillary mass and mild fevers, highlights the usefulness of both gallium-67 and F-18 FDG PET/CT imaging in the staging of histiocytic sarcoma. While PET/CT was superior in determining the extent of the disease, gallium can be used to help stage the disease in centers where PET/CT is not available.

Sarcomatoid carcinoma (carcinosarcoma) of the lung mimics malignant pleural mesothelioma on 18F-FDG PET/CT: a report of 2 cases.

Sarcomatoid carcinomas of the lung account for less than 0.4% of all lung tumors, and they are a heterogeneous group of non–small-cell lung carcinomas containing a sarcoma or sarcoma-like component. They have a poor prognosis, with an overall 5-year survival of 25% compared with 45% for other types of non–small-cell lung carcinomas. The literature on the use of F-FDG PET/CT to stage these tumors is very limited, and their PET/CT imaging characteristics have not been previously described. We report on 2 cases of sarcomatoid carcinoma that resembled malignant pleural mesothelioma on F-FDG PET/CT and were correctly staged.

Angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma: staging and evaluation of response to therapy with F-18 FDG PET/CT.

Angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma is a very rare tumor that accounts for 0.3% of all soft-tissue tumors, and occurs predominantly in the extremities of adolescents and young adults. It has been classified by the World Health Organization as a tumor of uncertain differentiation with intermediate malignant potential, although recent evidence suggests a myoid or myofibroblastic cell origin. Most examples behave in an indolent manner with a regional recurrence rate of 15% and a rate of metastasis of 1%. We present a 29-year-old woman who was referred for an F-18 FDG PET/CT to evaluate a left shoulder mass. She had multiple local FDG-avid lymph nodes, and initial biopsy was suggestive of epithelioid sarcoma. She was treated with chemotherapy, but a post-therapy PET/CT showed minimal response and radical surgical excision was performed. The histopathology and immunohistochemistry was consistent with angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma. This case highlights a potential new utility for F-18 FDG PET/CT in the staging and evaluation of response to therapy for this very rare soft-tissue tumor.

Rapidly growing complex fibroadenoma with surrounding ductal hyperplasia mimics breast malignancy on serial F-18 FDG PET/CT imaging.

A 30-year-old woman was referred for an F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT to rule out lymphoma, and was found to have an incidental FDG-avid right breast nodule that grew significantly in size and FDG uptake on a subsequent scan, raising suspicion of a growing breast malignancy. Histologic evaluation showed a complex fibroadenoma with adenosis and surrounding ductal hyperplasia. Although variable F-18 FDG uptake in fibroadenomas has been described, a distinction between simple and complex fibroadenomas has not been made in the PET literature, even though complex fibroadenomas have a higher propensity to develop into malignancies. This case shows that a rapidly growing complex fibroadenoma can mimic a breast malignancy on serial F-18 FDG PET/CT scans, showing significant increase in both size and FDG-avidity on follow-up studies.

Clinical significance of parotid gland incidentalomas on 18F-FDG PET/CT

The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency and clinical significance of incidental focal uptake of (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) on positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in the parotid glands of cancer patients. A retrospective review of 7,252 oncologic PET/CT studies was done. FDG positive parotid incidentalomas occurred in 0.4% of PET/CT scans, of which only 4% were malignant. PET/CT was unable to differentiate benign from malignant parotid lesions based on SUVmax alone. (18)F-FDG positive parotid incidentalomas can be managed conservatively, however patients with a prior history of lymphoma had a much higher risk of parotid malignancy and require further investigation.

Infectious and inflammatory complications of surgical management of cancer patients imaged with 18F-FDG PET/CT: a pictorial essay

The aim of this pictorial essay was to highlight the usefulness of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in evaluating incidental infection or inflammation in cancer patients, related to surgical management. A retrospective review of 10,985 consecutive oncologic PET/CTs was done, and nine cases with suspected FDG positive infectious or inflammatory processes were selected for further review. PET/CT helped identify infections and inflammatory processes related to surgical management of cancer patients, define the extent of infection or inflammation, guide the management and, in some cases, evaluate response to therapy.

Malignant epithelioid hemangioendothelioma of the lower extremity: staging with F-18 FDG PET/CT.

A 36-year-old woman presented with a 5-month history of a growing left thigh mass, causing difficulty walking. Biopsy revealed a malignant epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE), and the patient was referred for a staging F-18 FDG PET/CT that showed intense FDG uptake in the thigh mass, but no FDG-avid local lymph nodes or distant metastases. A few reports have noted the usefulness of F-18 FDG PET/CT imaging in the staging of EHEs in the lung, liver, and bone marrow. This rare study highlights the usefulness of F-18 FDG PET/CT in the staging of malignant EHE of the soft tissues of the extremities.

Extramedullary Gastric Relapse of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Following Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant: Staging With F-18 Fdg Pet/ct

A 26-year-old man with a prior history of acute leukemia that was treated with a stem cell transplant (SCT) was referred for an F-18 FDG PET/CT to assess suspicious new gastric mucosal lesions. The lesions were FDG-avid and were histologically proven to be acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Extramedullary relapse of ALL after SCT is very rare, with only 60 cases reported in the literature, and the role of F-18 FDG PET/CT in monitoring for ALL relapse following SCT has not been previously investigated. This rare case report highlights the use of F-18 FDG PET/CT in staging gastric relapse of ALL following SCT.