Liver metastasis as a first sign of fallopian tube carcinoma and the role of positron emission tomography in preoperative diagnosis.
The search for an unknown primary tumour is often time-consuming, costly and unrewarding. Positron emission tomography might be an effective method for screening the body for malignant deposits. We present the case of a woman with a symptomatic liver tumour of unknown origin. Several investigations did not reveal a primary tumour, but PET scanning showed a hot spot in the pelvis, suggesting either a primary tumour or a metastatic deposit. During operation, a primary Fallopian tube carcinoma was detected. Histopathological examination of the resected liver tumour revealed a metastasis of the Fallopian tube carcinoma. This case report demonstrates that PET scanning can be useful in the diagnostic process in patients with unknown primary tumour, and that a symptomatic liver tumour can be the first sign of Fallopian tube carcinoma.
van Leeuwen
B L
BL
Dept. of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation, PET-Center, Laboratory Medicine, Groningen University Hospital, The Netherlands.
Pruim
J
J
Gouw
A S H
AS
van der Zee
A G J
AG
Slooff
M J H
MJ
de Jong
K P
KP
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000556:secondary*; D005185:Fallopian Tube Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000556:secondary*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009382:Neoplasms, Unknown Primary / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed