Pulmonary sclerosing pneumocytoma: Novel [18F]FDG uptake pattern observed in follow-up PET/CT imaging

Document Type : Case Report

Authors

1 Cancer Research Center, Razavi Hospital, Imam Reza International University, Mashhad, Iran

2 Nuclear Medicine Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract

A 36-year-old man with an incidentally detected right upper lobe pulmonary nodule underwent serial [18F]F-Fluorodeoxyglucose ([18F]FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) examinations over a 16-month period to assess metabolic activity and guide clinical management. Initial imaging demonstrated no increased metabolic activity in the pulmonary nodule, supporting a conservative follow-up strategy. However, subsequent [18F]FDG PET/CT examinations demonstrated a gradual increase in metabolic activity, initially raising concern for malignant transformation and prompting biopsy, which ultimately confirmed pulmonary sclerosing pneumocytoma (PSP). Retrospective analysis revealed that the increased [18F]FDG uptake was not localized to the pulmonary nodule itself but rather to adjacent distal vascular structures. This case highlights a pattern of [18F]FDG uptake associated with vascular endothelial proliferation in PSP, emphasizing the importance of careful PET/CT interpretation and the potential to non-invasively characterize the lesion based on this uptake pattern.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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