A rare presentation of metastatic renal clear cell carcinoma to the tongue seen on FDG PET.

Renal clear cell carcinoma has a great metastatic potential, with possibly uncommon secondary lesions, notably in the head and neck region. The role of F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (F-18 FDG PET) in the staging or follow-up of urological malignancies is still not clearly defined. We report a case of metastatic renal cell carcinoma involving the tongue and a cervical lymph node, 3 years after initial nephrectomy. The use of combined positron emission tomography/computed tomography scan showed increased F-18 FDG activity in these 2 lesions that were then diagnosed and treated by surgery. Although the diagnostic performance of F-18 FDG PET is limited in the detection of primary disease, this imaging modality can be a very useful tool in the follow-up of renal clear cell carcinoma.