Key result
18F-FDG PET/CT identifies spindle cell sarcoma mimicking pulmonary thromboembolism via high FDG uptake.
Why the study?
Pulmonary artery sarcoma is rare and must be differentiated from pulmonary thromboembolism due to its high malignancy and poor prognosis.
Case Report (n=1)
18F-FDG PET/CT can help differentiate malignant pulmonary artery sarcoma from benign pulmonary thromboembolism by demonstrating high FDG uptake.
May differentiate pulmonary artery sarcoma from thromboembolism on PET/CT; leaves open need for prospective validation before clinical adoption.
Pulmonary artery sarcoma (PAS), although rare, must be considered in the differential diagnosis of pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE). This tumor is highly malignant and the prognosis is very poor. As much as the standardized uptake values (SUVs) at fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET) have helped in differentiating between benign and malignant tumors, visualization of a low-attenuation filling defect within a pulmonary artery on contrast-enhanced chest computed tomography (CT) can be suggestive of a malignancy, such as PAS, if the lesion shows high FDG uptake at PET. We present a case of PAS that showed high FDG uptake on integrated FDG PET/CT and with lung metastasis. Patient underwent endoscopic bronchial ultrasound-transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA), which confirmed spindle cell sarcoma.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Kamaleshwaran et al. (2014) conducted a case report in Pulmonary artery sarcoma (n=1). 18F-FDG PET/CT was evaluated. 18F-FDG PET/CT demonstrated high FDG uptake in a pulmonary artery filling defect, facilitating the diagnosis of spindle cell sarcoma mimicking pulmonary thromboembolism.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: