title: Unexpected visitor on FDG PET/CT--brown adipose tissue (BAT) in mesentery in a case of retroperitoneal extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma: is the BAT activation secondary to catecholamine-secreting pheochromocytoma?
abstract: Fused positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) technology has enabled the determination that nonmalignant fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake is observed in brown adipose tissue (BAT). FDG uptake in BAT is a known potential source of false-positive interpretations for PET. The typical locations of BAT include neck, supraclavicular area, mediastinum, and paravertebral intercostal spaces. Examples of atypical locations for BAT include posterior neck, left paratracheal area, axillae, perirenal area, and retrocrural area. We report PET/CT findings in a young male patient with malignant retroperitoneal extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma, who demonstrated FDG uptake in BAT at multiple locations including mesenteric BAT. We also propose catecholamine-secreting pheochromocytoma as a possible cause of BAT activation in our case.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET-CT, Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai, India. drprathamj@gmail.com
authors.forename: Prathamesh Vijay
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Joshi
authors.forename: Vikram Ramchandra
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Lele
mesh_terms: D002001:Adipose Tissue, Brown / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000310:Adrenal Gland Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D000328:Adult; D002395:Catecholamines / Q000378:metabolism*; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008643:Mesentery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D064847:Multimodal Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D010673:Pheochromocytoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D012187:Retroperitoneal Space / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D002395:Catecholamines; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; C513399:gallium Ga 68 dotatate