Sabire Yilmaz Aksoy

Appearance of recurrent cardiac myxofibrosarcoma on FDG PET/CT.

Primary cardiac sarcomas are extremely rare tumors. In this case report, we presented the condition of a 37-year-old male patient diagnosed with myxofibrosarcoma after histopathologic evaluation of the left atrium mass excision. FDG PET/CT was performed and showed recurrent hypermetabolic lesions in the left atrial wall and right anterior mediastinal region.

Prognostic significance of standardized uptake value on 18fluorine-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma

The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic significance of standardized uptake value (SUV) on 18 fluorine-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Thirty-four patients who have histologically proven NPC and underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT were included in this study. After 18F-FDG PET/CT, all the patients received radiation therapy and 32 of them received concomitant weekly chemotherapy. The maximum SUV (SUVmax) at the primary tumor and the SUVmaxof the highest neck nodes were determined. The SUVmax-T ranged from 5.00 to 30.80 (mean: 15.37 ± 6.10) and there was no difference between SUVmax-T values for early and late stages (P = 0.99). The SUVmax-N ranged from 3.10 to 23.80 (mean: 13.23 ± 5.76). There was no correlation between SUVmax-T and SUVmax-N (r = 0.111, P = 0.532). There was no difference between the SUVmax-T and the positivity of neck lymph nodes (P = 0.169). The ability of SUVmaks-N to predict stage was obtained by a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The area under the curve is 0.856 and the best cut-off value is 7.88. There was a good correlation between SUVmax-N and stage. While the mean SUVmax-T for the alive patients was slightly lower than that for the dead (14.65 ± 5.58 vs. 20.30 ± 7.92, P = 0.061), the difference between the groups was not statistically significant. Furthermore, there was no statistically significant difference for SUVmax-N between these two groups (P: 0.494). Cox-regression analysis showed that an increase in SUVmax-T and SUVmax-N was associated with death risk (relative risk [RR]: 1.13, P = 0.078 and RR: 1.052, P = 0.456, respectively). SUVmax-T and SUVmax-N were independent prognostic factors for survival in NPC patients. This will help the clinicians in choosing suitable candidates for more aggressive treatment modalities.

A case of sarcoidosis diagnosed by positron emission tomography/computed tomography

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disorder of unknown cause which may affect any organ or system but primarily involve the lungs and the lymphatic system. Extrapulmonary sarcoidosis represents approximately 30-50% of patients. We report the case of a 51-year-old female who presented with increasing complaints of a cough, weakness, weight loss, and chest pain and who was found to have a suspicious lesion on thorax computed tomography(CT). Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/CT performed for diagnostic purposes demonstrated increased FDG accumulation at the bilateral enlarged parotid and lacrimal gland and in the reticulonodular infiltration area located in the left lung as well as multiple lymphadenopathies with increased FDG accumulation. There were also hepatosplenomegaly and splenic uptake. Skin biopsy showed noncaseating granulomas, and the patient was diagnosed as stage 2 sarcoidosis.

Laryngeal squamous cell cancer with late presentation of isolated liver metastasis on fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography

Laryngeal cancer is the second most common type of head and neck malignancy, representing approximately 45% of all head and neck cancers. Hematogenous spread to the liver rarely occurs without evidence of pulmonary and bone disease. We report a patient who had been treated 7 years earlier for laryngeal squamous cell cancer and who had isolated liver metastasis on fluorodeoxy D-glucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography.

Depiction of ventriculoperitoneal shunt obstruction with single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography

An 83-year-old male patient with ventriculoperitoneal shunt underwent radionuclide shunt study using single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography.(SPECT/CT) to evaluate the shunt patency. The planar images showed activity at the cranial region and spinal canal but no significant activity at the peritoneal cavity. However, SPECT/CT images clearly demonstrated accumulation of activity at the superior part of bifurcation level with no activity at the distal end of shunt as well as no spilling of radiotracer into the peritoneal cavity indicating shunt obstruction. SPECT/CT makes the interpretation of radionuclide shunt study more accurate and easier as compared with traditional planar images.