Fluorodeoxyglucose-positive splenic infarctions are completely regressive just after 4 months

• Published in: Indian journal of nuclear medicine Vol. 33; no. 3; pp. 239 - 241
• Main Authors: Hoberück, Sebastian, Seppelt, Danilo, Platzek, Ivan, Zöphel, Klaus
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: India Wolters Kluwer India Pvt. Ltd 01.07.2018; Medknow Publications and Media Pvt. Ltd; Medknow Publications & Media Pvt. Ltd; Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd
• Subjects: Angiography; Case Report; CAT scans; Computed tomography; Fluorine isotopes; Hospitals; Liver; Liver cancer; Medical imaging; Melanoma; Metabolism; Metastasis; Nuclear medicine; Positron emission; Positron emission tomography; Radiation therapy; Radioisotopes; Skin cancer; Spleen; Sulfur; Sulfur compounds; Technetium; Tomography; selective internal radiotherapy; splenic infarction; Fluorodeoxyglucose; metabolic regression; positron emission tomography; hepatocellular carcinoma; splenic metastasis
• ISSN: 0972-3919; 0974-0244
• DOI: 10.4103/ijnm.IJNM_44_18

A 55-year-old woman with newly diagnosed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was hospitalized in our department for the evaluation of selective internal radiotherapy (SIRT), which consists of an angiography, an intra-arterial technetium (Tc)-99m-macroaggregated albumin application and Tc-99m sulfur colloid scintigraphy to assess liver function. Besides the modest intratumoral tracer accumulation, F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging showed two intense focal cuneiform splenic FDG accumulations which turned out to be splenic infarctions. Four months later, both hypermetabolic foci were completely regressive in the first follow-up PET/CT after SIRT. This is the first report of a complete metabolic regression of splenic infarctions within just 4 months, whereas regression on CT is commonly seen after more than 2 years.