Nonfunctioning endocrine pancreatic tumor examined with 18F-FDG PET/CT

• Published in: Annals of nuclear medicine Vol. 22; no. 2; pp. 133 - 137
• Main Authors: Toshikuni, Nobuyuki, Kai, Kyohei, Fujisawa, Masayoshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan Springer Japan 01.02.2008; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aged; Case Report; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Fatigue; Female; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 - pharmacokinetics; Humans; Imaging; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Neoplasm Staging; Nuclear Medicine; Pancreas - diagnostic imaging; Pancreas - pathology; Pancreas - surgery; Pancreatectomy; Pancreatic Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Pancreatic Neoplasms - pathology; Pancreatic Neoplasms - surgery; Positron-Emission Tomography; Radiology; Radiopharmaceuticals - pharmacokinetics; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Pancreas; F-FDG PET/CT; Nonfunctioning endocrine tumor
• ISSN: 0914-7187; 1864-6433
• DOI: 10.1007/s12149-007-0085-0

A 71-year-old woman with type 2 diabetes mellitus complained of generalized fatigue. A 36-mm tumor in the pancreatic tail was detected with ultrasonography. The tumor was found to have marked hypervascularity with contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance. Combined 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography and CT ( 18 F-FDG PET/CT) showed 18 F-FDG by the tumor with a maximal standardized uptake value of 2.98 at 50 min and 3.29 at 100 min following injection of 18 F-FDG. 18 F-FDG PET/CT suggested no extrapancreatic spread of the tumor. The patient had no pancreatic hormone-associated symptoms. Distal pancreatectomy was performed, and a well-differentiated endocrine tumor was diagnosed. The resected specimen showed neither infiltration of adjacent structures nor metastasis to regional lymph nodes. The present case suggests that 18 F-FDG PET/CT is a reliable modality for staging endocrine pancreatic tumors.