The contribution of ¹8F-FDG PET/CT in a patient with cutaneous metastases of squamous cell carcinoma of the penis.

A 61-year-old patient was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the penis (SCCP) and treated with partial penectomy (pT1,N0,M0,G2). Seven months later, a palpable adenopathy was found in the left inguinal region. An (18)F-FDG PET/CT exploration showed hypermetabolic lymphadenopathies in inguinal, pelvic, retroperitoneal regions, in both lung hila and in the left supraclavicular regions. At the end of the 4th cycle of chemotherapy (cisplatin+5FU) the patient developed numerous skin metastases at the root of the left thigh and a pleural effusion in the right lung. In a new exploration with (18)F-FDG PET/CT the number, size and metabolic activity of known lymphadenopathies decreased. Right pleural carcinomatosis and intense FDG uptake in cutaneous metastases were observed. Weeks later, the patient died. (18)F-FDG-PET/TC may be useful in patients with SCCP and metastatic inguinal lymphadenopathies, to assess the response to chemotherapy and to detect other unsuspected metastases in the rare cases of cutaneous metastases.

Extensive hypermetabolic pattern of brown adipose tissue activation on 18F-FDG PET/CT in a patient diagnosed of catecholamine-secreting para-vesical paraganglioma.

The widespread use of (18)F-FDG PET-CT scanning in oncological patients has allowed to demonstrate the existence of metabolically active brown fat, also called brown adipose tissue (BAT), in adult humans, and specifying its anatomical distribution in vivo. As physiological determinants to BAT (18)F-FDG uptake has been identified gender, age, temperature, and body mass index. We have observed extensive activation of the BAT, including the mesenteric region, in a patient with a catecholamine-secreting para-vesical paranganglioma. The extensive BAT activation could be secondary to adrenergic stimulation due to excess of circulating norepinephrine concentration.

[18F-FDG PET/CT diagnosis of liver cyst infection in a patient with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease and fever of unknown origin]. / Diagnóstico mediante 18F-FDG PET-TAC de infección quística hepática en paciente con enfermedad poliquística renal autosómica dominante y fiebre de origen desconocido.

The diagnosis, localization and treatment of infected cysts in the kidney or liver of patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) remain a clinical challenge. We report the findings of (18)F-FDG PET-CT in an ADPKD diagnosed patient who required renal transplantation five years before and in his follow up presented repeated episodes of bacteriemia without known focus on radiological tests performed. The (18)F-FDG PET-CT scan showed numerous hypermetabolic images with focal or ring-shaped morphology related to the content and the wall of some hepatic cysts. The increased metabolic activity was localized on segments VI and VII. We proceeded to drainage of one cyst in segment VI, removing 110 cc of purulent fluid which grew E. Coli BLEE. The (18)F-FDG PET/CT scan should be included in the diagnostic algorithm for detecting infected liver cysts in patients with ADPKD and fever of unknown origin.

[Papillary thyroid carcinoma synchronous with breast cancer: an incidental finding in an (18)F-FDG PET-CT study carried out in a search for occult breast cancer]. / Carcinoma papilar de tiroides sincrónico con cáncer de mama: hallazgo casual en una exploración (18)F-FDG PET-TAC por búsqueda de un cáncer oculto de mama.

The most common cause of metastatic involvement of axillary lymph nodes in women is ipsilateral breast cancer. The definition of occult breast malignancy has changed over time. Nowadays, it is considered to exist when it coincides with an isolated metastatic axillary abnormal lymph node in the absence of a palpable tumor in the ipsilateral breast, non-diagnostic breast tumor mammography and no detection of other malignancies outside the breast which could potentially affect the axillary nodes. The value of (18)F-FDG PET/CT scan in these patients has not been established, but it could be useful in those patients with a non-diagnostic MRI. It is not uncommon in (18)F-FDG PET/CT studies to identify incidental hypermetabolic focal image in the thyroid. The high prevalence of cancer in these lesions makes it recommendable to perform a US study and/or FNAP biopsy.

[Resistance to first line chemotherapy treatment in a patient diagnosed of nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin's lymphoma identified by 18F-FDG PET/CT: diagnostic and therapeutic implications]. / Resistencia al tratamiento de primera línea de quimioterapia en un paciente diagnosticado de linfoma de Hodgkin de predominio linfocítico nodular identificada mediante (18)F-FDG PET/TAC: implicaciones diagnósticas y terapéuticas.

Nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL) is a rare entity that accounts for less than 5% of the cases of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) with morphological, immunophenotypical, genetic and clinical behavior traits different from the classic HL. In a minority of patients, the NLPHL course is complicated by a transformation to a non-Hodgkin diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (NHDLBCL) with prognostic and therapeutic implications. Early metabolic changes observed by (18)F-FDG PET in patients with HL and NHL, after 1-3 cycles of chemotherapy, predict the final response to treatment and progression-free survival. In the case we are presenting herein, whether NLPHL is transformed to NHDLBCL or the two types of lymphoma co-exist in the same patient, the (18)F-FDG PET/CT scan was crucial for the identification of tumor resistance to first line chemotherapy and to guide a second biopsy decision and therefore modify the chemotherapy regimen.

[¹8F-FDG PET-CT in cytomegalovirus-induced mononucleosis]. / ¹8F-FDG PET-TAC en mononucleosis por citomegalovirus.

The case of a 51 years-old woman with high fever, asthenia and weight loss of three weeks of evolution is presented. She had a personal history of breast cancer and liver metastases. The physical examination showed small painless enlarged lymph nodes in both latero-cervical chains. The blood analysis showed 9200 leukocytes with 69% of lymphocytes and elevated liver enzymes. Serological determinations as well as repeated blood and urine culture were negatives, only the anti-CMV IgM determination being positive. The CEA tumor marker was slightly elevated. PET/CT demonstrated hypermetabolic enlarged lymph nodes in the bilateral cervical chains and in celiac region, hepatosplenomegaly and diffusely increased ¹8F-FDG uptake in the spleen. These alterations were associated with CMV infection. Her evolution was favorable, and she was diagnosed of CMV mononucleosis. The appropriate clinical and immunological diagnosis of IM in patients aged over 40 years is important to avoid unnecessary diagnostic procedures.

[Ovarian and para-aortic recurrence from cervix cancer detected by PET/CT]. / Recurrencia ovárica y paraaórtica de un carcinoma de cuello uterino detectada mediante PET/TC.

We present the case of a 34-year-old woman diagnosed of an adenosquamous carcinoma of the uterine cervix, stage IIB of the FIGO classification (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics), treated with quimiotherapy, radiotheraphy and brachytheraphy with posterior hysterectomy. A recurrence of the disease was suspected due to the progressive rise of CEA levels. A PET/CT revealed abnormal foci in both ovaries, that had been transposed to avoid lesions due to radiation, and in a left para-aortic adenopathy. The diagnosis of recurrence in these sites was confirmed by biopsy. PET with FDG (F18-fluorodeoxyglucose) is useful in the staging of primary tumour and in the detection of recurrence in uterine cervical carcinoma, with better sensitivity and specificity than CT and MRI. PET/CT improves anatomic resolution and helps to resolve the origin of unclear foci like in the case presented in which ovaries were not in their normal situation due to transposition.

[Treatment of bone metastatic pain with Sm153-EDTMP. Evaluation of the analgesic response and the existence of differences according to the primary tumor and the metastatic pattern]. / Tratamiento del dolor óseo metastásico con Sm153-EDTMP. Valoración de la respuesta analgésica y de la existencia de diferencias según el tipo de tumor y el patrón metastásico.

AIMS: To evaluate the response to Sm153-EDTMP treatment in patients with metastatic bone pain and the existence of differences in the response according to the scintigraphic pattern (99mTc-MDP) and the primary tumor. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We have evaluated the response to Sm153-EDTMP treatment in 32 patients (17 male and 15 female) who received 38 doses (1 mCi/kg). The primary tumor was prostate cancer in 15 patients, breast in 13, lung in 2, intestinal carcinoid in one and unknown in one. Two types of response were considered: a) effective and b) non-effective. Patients were classified into 3 groups according to the metastatic pattern: 1) Superscan (SS), 2) Generalized metastases (GM) and 3) Regional metastases (RM). RESULTS: There was effective response in 24 doses (63.15%) and non-effective in 14 (36.84%). The mean duration of the response was 12.08 weeks. Patients with GM pattern showed 16 effective responses (76.19%) and 5 non-effective (23.8%). In SS pattern there were 6 effective responses (60%) and 4 non-effective (40%) and 2 effective (28.57%) and 5 non-effective (71.53%) in RM pattern. These differences did not reach statistical significance (p > 0.05). We did not find differences in the response between prostate cancer (12 effective and 6 non-effective) and breast cancer (10 effective and 6 non-effective) (p = 0.79968). CONCLUSIONS: Sm153-EDTMP treatment is efficacious in patients with metastatic bone pain with effective response in 63.15% of the treatments. The response percentage was lower in patients with RM pattern but the differences did not reach statistical significance. There were no differences in the response between prostate and breast cancer patients.

In-111 DTPA octreotide scintigraphy and intraoperative gamma probe detection in the diagnosis and treatment of residual lymph node metastases of a rectal carcinoid tumor.

PURPOSE: We report a case of a rectal carcinoid tumor that was treated using endoscopic resection. This case highlights the usefulness of using somatostatin receptor scintigraphy in the postresection endoscopy of the tumor and the intraoperative use of a gamma probe detector for the surgical resection of metastatic adenopathy that had not been detected using computed tomography (CT) scanning. METHODS: The patient was studied using CT scanning, somatostatin receptor scintigraphy (SRS), and rectal endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS). A gamma probe detector was scheduled for use during the subsequent surgical intervention. RESULTS: The SRS demonstrated a pelvic metastatic lymphatic node that had not been detected on CT scanning. Additional EUS did not show regional metastatic lymph nodes. Histopathology following removal of retroperitoneal and presacral lymphatic nodes confirmed the diagnosis of metastatic carcinoid tumor. At follow up at 6 months, SRS and rectoscopy were normal. CONCLUSION: Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy is very useful in identifying the presence of lymph node metastases, even with a small rectal carcinoid tumor. This is of considerable importance when scheduling surgery and the CT and EUS are normal. The use of an intraoperative gamma-probe detector assists in the surgical excision of the metastatic lymphatic nodes, especially because they had been detected only using SRS, and when their exact location is uncertain.

[Carcinoid tumor and bone metastases: diagnosis by somatostatin receptor scintigraphy]. / Tumor carcinoide y metástasis óseas: diagnóstico mediante gammagrafía de receptores de somatostatina.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study has been to retrospectively assess the usefulness of 111In-DTPAOC scintigraphy in the detection of bone metastases (BM) in patients diagnosed of carcinoid tumour (CaT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between June 1995 and April 2003 78 111In-DTPAOC studies were consecutively performed in 58 patients, 31 females and 27 males, 28 to 73 years old, with a histological diagnosis of CaT. Moreover, whole body bone scans (BS) using 99mTc-MDP were performed in 13 of these patients. The patients were classified into three groups: Group A: Initial CaT staging (n = 23); Group B: CaT staging after surgery (n = 14); and Group C: Post-treatment CaT re-staging (n = 29). In this last group, 6 patients of group A and 2 patients of group B were included. In only 2 patients the diagnoses of bone metastases were established before the 111In-DTPAOC scan. RESULTS: Twenty six (44.8 %9 of the 58 patients with CaT had metastatic disease: 15 patients with hepatic metastases, associated with BM in 4 of them, 10 patients with hepatic and extra-hepatic metastases, abdominal and/or thoracic, associated with BM in 4 and in one patient, the BMs were the only metastases detected. The global incidence of BM in patients diagnosed with CaT was 15.5 % (9/58), whereas the incidence of BM in patients with metastasic disease was 34.6 % (9/26). Significant differences (p = 0.0035) were found on the incidence of BM in patients with or without hepatic metastases. In 4 patients, BMs were detected during the initial staging (group A), whereas in 5 patients, BMs were detected during the post-treatment re-staging (group C). During diagnosis, 4 of the 9 patients with BM had bone pain. BM were multiples in 8 patients, affecting axial skeleton in 4 and axial and appendicular skeleton in 4. One patient had a diffuse infiltration of bone marrow. BS was positive in 8 of the 9 patients with BM. In these 8 patients with abnormal BS, 111In-DTPAOC scintigraphy provides similar information to the BS in one patient, shows a greater number of bone lesions in 3, whereas BS was superior in 5 patients. Four of the patients with BM died between 6 and 47 months after diagnosis (mean: 29.7 months). CONCLUSIONS: BMs are preferably located on axial skeleton, can be asymptomatic and are associated with hepatic metastases. Although the 111In-DTPAOC scintigraphy is able to detect some BM earlier than BS, the information provided by both studies is complementary. In patients with CaT, any invasive therapy on the hepatic metastases make it necessary to exclude extrahepatic metastases, including bone ones, and the somatostatin receptor scintigraphy is the diagnostic method of choice.