False-positive finding in FDG-PET in a patient with seminoma and sarcoidosis

• Published in: Acta clinica belgica (English ed. Online) Vol. 70; no. 2; pp. 138 - 140
• Main Author: Liepe, K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 01.04.2015; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Adult; Biomarkers; Biopsy; Bone involvement; Chemotherapy; False Positive Reactions; FDG-PET; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; Humans; Inflammatory diseases; Liver; Lymphatic system; Male; Medical treatment; Metastasis; Patients; Positron-Emission Tomography; Radiopharmaceuticals; Sarcoidosis; Sarcoidosis - diagnostic imaging; Sarcoidosis - pathology; Seminoma; Seminoma - diagnostic imaging; Seminoma - pathology; Testicular Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Testicular Neoplasms - pathology; Tomography; Tumors; FDG-PET; Seminoma; Sarcoidosis; Bone involvement
• ISSN: 1784-3286; 2295-3337
• DOI: 10.1179/2295333714Y.0000000099

A 33-year-old white man with testicular cancer (seminoma) stage IIIa showed a response in mediastinal lymph node metastases after chemotherapy. However, the tumor markers increase slightly, and therefore an 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography was performed. Multiple FDG avid lesions were found in lymph node, liver and bone. The standardized uptake value (SUV) was discrete increase with a value of 2·8 to 5·7, which is more typical for inflammatory disease than a malignancy. The histological findings in a mediastinal lymph node reported a sarcoidosis, and therefore all lesions were diagnosed as a sarcoidosis. The one-year follow-up showed no further increase in tumor markers and no evidence for metastases.