title: 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography might be useful for diagnosis of hepatic amyloidosis.
abstract: We report on a woman with hepatic involvement of primary systemic (immunoglobulin light chain, AL) amyloidosis. Her diagnosis was confirmed by liver biopsy. Clinical symptoms of hepatic amyloidosis are generally mild at its first stage, with most frequent findings being hepatomegaly and alkaline phosphatase elevation. Recent advances in the understanding of the pathophysiology of systemic amyloidosis have made several treatments available. However, its prognosis is occasionally poor. Because liver biopsy is not always safe, other modalities for the diagnosis are needed. Of interest was that fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake into the liver was observed, compared with that into the spleen, in this patient, indicating that FDG positron emission tomography and computed tomography might be useful for the diagnosis of hepatic amyloidosis with mild liver dysfunction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Chiba University Hospital, Chuo-ku, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Akinobu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tawada
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Chiba University Hospital, Chuo-ku, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Tatsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kanda
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Pathology, Chiba University Hospital, Chuo-ku, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oide
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Chiba University Hospital, Chuo-ku, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsuyuguchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Chiba University Hospital, Chuo-ku, Chiba, Japan ; Safety and Health Organization, Chiba University, Inage-ku, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Fumio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Imazeki
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Pathology, Chiba University Hospital, Chuo-ku, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakatani
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Chiba University Hospital, Chuo-ku, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Yokosuka
keywords: FDG PET; amyloidosis; diagnosis; hepatic involvement