Value of 18F-FDG PET/CT in the detection of occult malignancy in patients with dermatomyositis

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether whole-body 18 F-FDG PET/CT imaging can offer a standard option searching for underlying malignancy in DM patients. Methods: Seventy-five patients diagnosed with DM were referred to our department for whole-body 18 F-FDG PET/ CT to determine whether the patients suffered from malignant tumor. All PET images were analyzed by two experienced nuclear medicine physicians separately. Results: According to the 18 F-FDG PET/CT results, 19 patients were suspected to suffer from malignant tumor, then biopsy was performed. Of the 19 patients, 17 patients were confirmed to have malignant tumor. The pathological types were: nasopharyngeal carcinoma, rectal cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, gastric cancer, gallbladder cancer, kidney cancer, ovarian cancer, breast cancer, lymphoma and vertebral metastatic adenocarcinoma of unknown origin. No malignancy was found for the 56 PET-negative patients during follow-up. For the age between 17 patients with malignancy and 58 patients without malignancy, no significant difference was observed. Conclusion: 18 F-FDG PET/CT may be a sensitive and effective method in determining whether the patients with DM suffered from malignant tumor.

F-18-FDG PET/CT findings of paraneoplastic dermatoses

“…The rash can be itchy and painful. The reported rate of occurrence of malignant neoplasms in patients with DM is 15–30% [ 39 ]. Dysphagia occurs in 10–20% of patients.…”

“…Except for the patients who had been treated for DM lesions, all the patients concomitantly showed FDG uptakes predominantly in the proximal muscles. One of the previous studies showed FDG-avid various malignant neoplasms in 17 (22%) patients among the total of 75 DM patients [ 39 ]. Another study showed FDG-avid various malignant neoplasms in 7 (12%) patients among the total of 55 DM patients [ 36 , 41 ].…”

Occult Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: An Underappreciated Disease

“…Therefore, more efficient screen method for example positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) might contribute to early detection of primary tumor. Clinicians need to be vigilant when they encounter patients who manifest as internal diseases such as stroke [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ], thromboembolism [ 10 , 11 ] and dermatomyositis [ 12 ]. As occult NSCLC might be the fundamental cause of these non-cancer-related symptoms, the more refined examinations should be performed as soon as possible.…”

“…Occult lung cancer, defined as the presence of malignant tumor cells in bronchial washing or sputum but demonstrated no tumor evidence by imaging [ 1 , 2 ], often manifests as metastasis diseases [ 3 , 4 , 5 ] or other internal diseases such as stroke [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ], venous thromboembolism [ 10 , 11 ] and dermatomyositis [ 12 ]. When these patients develop apparent non-cancer-related symptoms, the vast majority may have already progressed to an advanced stage.…”

The Role of Quantitative and Semi-quantitative [18F]FDG-PET/CT Indices for Evaluating Disease Activity and Management of Patients With Dermatomyositis and Polymyositis

“…The database search identified 252 records found and 236 records were excluded after title/abstract screening and full-text content because those did not provide any relevant information on the topic of this review (Figure 1). Sixteen articles were eligible for a more detailed description in this review (16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31).…”