Case Author(s): Edward Pinkus, M.D. and Tom R. Miller, M.D., Ph.D. , 2/12/02 . Rating: #D., #Q.

Diagnosis: schwannoma

Brief history:

69 year-old woman with a 3.0 x 2.5cm left paraspinal mass senn on chest CT.

Images:

Coronal images of the whole-body FDG-PET.

View main image(pt) in a separate image viewer

View second image(pt). Selected images of the whole-body FDG-PET.

View third image(ct). ct of the chest.

Full history/Diagnosis is available below

Diagnosis: schwannoma

Full history:

69 year-old female with 3.0 x 2.5 cm left paraspinal mass. Diagnostic considerations include fibrous tumor, bronchogenic carcinoma and neurogenic tumor.

Radiopharmaceutical:

14.7 F-18 FDG.

Findings:

FDG-PET: Intensely incresed activity in the left paraspinal region at the T-6 level, corresponding to the abnormality seen on the recent CT, suggestive of malignancy.

CT of the chest: 3.0 x 2.5 cm left paraspinal smoothly marginated mass without osseous changes or neural foraminal widening. The differential diagnosis includes fibrous pleural tumor, lung cancer and, less likely, neurogenic tumor.

Discussion:

Surgical excision was performed with the patholgy interpreted as schwannoma.

This is an example of high fdg uptake in a benign tumor. Other causes of high fdg uptake in the chest of non-malignant etiology: granulamotous inflamation, such as sarcoidosis, histoplasmosis and infectios processes such as bacterial pneumonia.

ACR Codes and Keywords:

References and General Discussion of PET Tumor Imaging Studies (Anatomic field:Lung, Mediastinum, and Pleura, Category:Neoplasm, Neoplastic-like condition)

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Case number: pt073

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