M V Grigolon1, D Delbeke. 1. Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-2675, USA.
Abstract
PURPOSE: The authors describe a patient with F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake resulting from a bone infarct of a rib. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 52-year-old woman with a history of left breast cancer and total mastectomy 5 years earlier was examined for pain in her left rib cage in the past 2 weeks. A bone scan showed diffusely increased uptake in the left fifth rib, possibly suggestive of a metastasis. An FDG positron emission tomographic (PET) scan was performed to rule out metastatic disease. RESULTS: The FDG PET images showed two focal areas of increased uptake in the fifth and sixth left ribs, consistent with bone metastases. The patient underwent excision of a long segment of her left fifth rib and the pathological findings were consistent with bone infarct, without definite signs of metastatic disease. CONCLUSION: Bone infarct can take up FDG, probably as a result of an inflammatory process.
PURPOSE: The authors describe a patient with F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake resulting from a bone infarct of a rib. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 52-year-old woman with a history of left breast cancer and total mastectomy 5 years earlier was examined for pain in her left rib cage in the past 2 weeks. A bone scan showed diffusely increased uptake in the left fifth rib, possibly suggestive of a metastasis. An FDG positron emission tomographic (PET) scan was performed to rule out metastatic disease. RESULTS: The FDG PET images showed two focal areas of increased uptake in the fifth and sixth left ribs, consistent with bone metastases. The patient underwent excision of a long segment of her left fifth rib and the pathological findings were consistent with bone infarct, without definite signs of metastatic disease. CONCLUSION:Bone infarct can take up FDG, probably as a result of an inflammatory process.