Case report shows reversible remnant adrenal fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in a patient treated for adrenocortical carcinoma, highlighting false-positive recurrence during mitotane therapy.
Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare malignancy with poor prognosis. Its diagnosis requires clinical suspicion and confirmation through laboratory and imaging studies, including computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and abdominal ultrasound, as well as histological confirmation. Positron emission tomography (PET) is useful for distinguishing between benign and malignant lesions and for evaluating tumor recurrences or metastases. A case is described in which the uptake of fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) in a remnant adrenal gland could be misinterpreted as tumoral pathology. The article presents the case of a patient with ACC who, after treatment, showed increased FDG uptake in the remnant adrenal gland, which disappeared after discontinuation of treatment with mitotane. Possible explanations for this increase in FDG uptake are discussed, including the action of mitotane. In summary, it is highlighted that FDG uptake in remnant adrenal glands in patients treated with mitotane does not always indicate tumor recurrence or adrenal hypertrophy.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Torres et al. (2024) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: