What question did this study set out to answer?

To showcase the effectiveness of FDG PET/CT in identifying hidden nodal disease in BPDCN patients.

April 26, 2026Clinical Nuclear Medicine0 citations

Revealing Hidden Nodal Disease: FDG PET/CT Driven Detection of Occult Lymph Node Involvement in Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm

NKNivedita KunduAll India Institute of Medical Sciences JKJagatti Krishna RKRakesh KumarGovernment of Haryana

Key Points

To showcase the effectiveness of FDG PET/CT in identifying hidden nodal disease in BPDCN patients.
Patient presented with violaceous cutaneous nodules underwent F-18 FDG PET/CT for staging.
PET/CT revealed metastatic activity in lymph nodes not previously identified during physical examination.
Histopathological analysis confirmed the diagnosis of BPDCN.
FDG PET/CT successfully identified inguinal and cervical lymph node involvement, which was not detected by other means.
Histopathological confirmation of BPDCN was obtained after PET/CT imaging, supporting the imaging findings.

Abstract

Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare, aggressive malignancy characterized by skin involvement and frequent systemic dissemination. We report a case of a 32-year-old man with multiple violaceous cutaneous nodules who underwent F-18 FDG PET/CT for staging. PET/CT demonstrated extensive metabolic activity in cutaneous sites and revealed previously unsuspected inguinal and cervical lymph-node involvement. Histopathology confirmed BPDCN. This case highlights the crucial role of FDG PET/CT in detecting subclinical nodal disease, delineating total disease burden, and improving staging accuracy in BPDCN, thereby supporting its value in guiding management and future response assessment.

Ask AI

Helpful

Bookmark

View Full Paper