title: 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET features of focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) of the liver.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this paper is to describe the imaging pattern of focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) by l8F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET).
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight consecutive asymptomatic patients with histologic proof of FNH underwent 18F-FDG PET imaging. The lesions were found incidentally. The 18F-FDG PET imaging was performed with a dedicated PET tomograph after intravenous injection of 300-370 MBq 18F-FDG. The 18F-FDG accumulation in the lesions was (semi)quantified by calculating the standardized uptake value (SUV) and SUV has been corrected for the lean body mass (LBM). Eight patients with liver metastases spread from melanoma (n=2) and colorectal carcinoma (n=6) served as controls. The size of the FNH lesions and of the control group ranged from 2.0 to 8.5 cm (mean 4.83 cm +/- 2.37) and from 1.5 to 6 cm (mean 3.28 +/- 1.52), respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  While in malignant liver lesions the accumulation of 18F-FDG was significantly increased, all FNH lesions showed normal or even decreased accumulation of 18F-FDG. In FNH lesions, SUV ranged between 1.5 and 2.6 (mean 2.12 +/- 0.38), whereas all liver metastases showed an increased SUV ranging between 6.20 and 16.00 (mean 10.07 +/- 3.79). The SUV corrected for LMB (SUVLBM) was similar to the SUV and ranged between 0.9 and 2.2 (mean 1.81 +/- 0.41) for FNH and between 5.9 and 16.3 (mean 9.15 +/- 4.03), respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In contrast to liver metastases, there is no increased glucose metabolism in FNH in vivo. The imaging feature of FNH by 18F-FDG-PET imaging is not specific for FNH; however, it may be helpful to differentiate FNH from liver metastases in cancer patients if radiological methods are not diagnostic.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Vienna, Austria. amir.kurtaran@akh-wien.ac.at
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kurtaran
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Becherer
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pfeffel
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Traub
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schmaljohann
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kaserer
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Raderer
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Schima
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dudczak
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kletter
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Virgolini
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 / Q000008:administration & dosage; D020518:Focal Nodular Hyperplasia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000556:secondary; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000008:administration & dosage; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18