title: Systemic tuberculosis presenting as an epiglottic mass detected on F-18 FDG PET/CT.
abstract: A 32-year-old man presented with asthenia, weight loss, cough, and dysphagia following a recent stay in Morocco. Endoscopy showed a bulky mass of the epiglottis suspected of being a malignant tumor. The patient underwent jointly an F-18 FDG PET/CT and a biopsy of the tumor. Against all expectations, biopsy revealed granulomatous inflammation with epitheloid giant cells and caeseating necrosis. These findings associated with the presence of acid-fast bacilli in the sputum smears were highly suggestive of laryngeal tuberculosis, which was confirmed later after cultivation of mycobacteria. F-18 FDG PET showed diffuse pharyngolaryngeal and lung uptake with bilateral cervical and abdominal nodes, but also one thoracic vertebral uptake. Lung CT could have revealed carcinomatous dissemination, but cavitary lesions in some pulmonary segments were more evocative of tuberculosis. Moreover, cerebral MRI showed brain tuberculomas not visualized on F-18 FDG PET/CT. The patient was treated with a 5-antituberculosis drug regimen, which improved clinical symptoms with epiglottis mass regression, and lung CT image reduction, clinching the systemic tuberculosis diagnosis. A control F-18 FDG PET/CT performed 5 months later showed disappearance of the pharyngolaryngeal and node uptake, with an improvement of lung uptake without normalization, arguing for persistent disease. Unexpected pathologic findings may be present in more than 3% of neck dissections. Although this is usually indolent, with the underlying SCC remaining the main prognostic determinate, it may significantly complicate postoperative management.
authors: Service de Médecine Nucléaire, Hôpital Pellegrin, CHU Bordeaux, Bordeaux, F-33076 France. philippe.fernandez@u-bordeaux2.fr
authors: Philippe
authors: P
authors: Fernandez
authors: Martine
authors: M
authors: Guyot
authors: Estibaliz
authors: E
authors: Lazaro
authors: Jean-François
authors: JF
authors: Viallard
authors: Michèle
authors: M
authors: Allard
authors: Dominique
authors: D
authors: Ducassou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004825:Epiglottis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D013382:Subtraction Technique; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18