title: Is fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography scanning a suitable diagnostic test for histologically active large-vessel vasculitis?
abstract: Recent publications have highlighted the use of fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) as a moderately sensitive, noninvasive diagnostic test for medium- and large-vessel vasculitis. We report the atypical case of a patient with biopsy-proven granulomatous vasculitis of the aorta in addition to a non-small cell lung cancer, whose whole-body F-FDG PET/computed tomography scan demonstrated metabolic activity within the lung malignancy but was metabolically inactive in the aorta. We submit that F-FDG PET may not be an accurate diagnostic test for histologically active large-vessel vasculitis and should be used with caution.
authors.affiliation: Rheumatology Unit, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Alfred Hospital, Commercial Road, Melbourne, Australia. shombre@optusnet.com.au
authors.forename: Shomoresh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhattacharjee
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yap
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Longano
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Powell
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000783:Aneurysm / Q000453:epidemiology; D001011:Aorta / Q000473:pathology; D016122:Brachiocephalic Trunk / Q000473:pathology; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D014657:Vasculitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18