title: Palatine Tonsillar Metastasis of Small-Cell Neuroendocrine Carcinoma from the Lung Detected by FDG-PET/CT After Tonsillectomy: A Case Report.
abstract: Metastasis from a malignant tumor to the palatine tonsils is rare, accounting for only 0.8% of all tonsillar tumors, with only 100 cases reported in the English-language literature. Various malignant lung carcinomas may metastasize to the tonsils. A few cases of tonsillar metastasis from neuroendocrine lung carcinoma have been reported. A 67-year-old female underwent a right tonsillectomy because of a sore throat and an enlarged right tonsil. The postoperative pathology showed right tonsillar small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (SCNC). Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) demonstrated metabolic activity in the lower lobe of the right lung. In addition, hypermetabolic foci were noted in the lymph nodes of the right neck and mediastinum. A needle biopsy of the pulmonary mass showed SCNC. The patient received chemotherapy and died of multiple distant metastases after 6 months. This is the first report using PET/CT to evaluate tonsillar metastasis from lung SCNC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, the First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China ; Department of Otolaryngology, the Second Hospital of Jiaxing City 314000, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Hong
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, the First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Yang-Yang
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, the First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Shui-Hong
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, the First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Qin-Ying
authors.initials: QY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Center of PET, the First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Kui
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhao
keywords: Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine; Lung; Palatine Tonsil