Increased fluorodeoxyglucose-uptake in positron emission tomography with an endobronchial schwannoma occluding the left main stem bronchus.

A 48-year-old woman suffering from left-side back pain and a 3-year history of coughing was found to have a submucosal lesion occluding the left main bronchus by chest computed tomographic scanning and bronchoscopy. The lesion showed a high standardized uptake value of 3.9 in positron emission tomography with fluorine-18 labeled fluorodeoxyglucose scanning (FDG-PET). The tumor was resected with the posterior wall of the left main bronchus through a postrolateral thoracotomy, and a large defect in the membranous portion was reconstructed in the manner of wedge bronchoplasty, preserving the lung parenchyma. Pathological findings confirmed the diagnosis of schwannoma with no malignant cells. Schwannoma should be included in the differential diagnosis of endobronchial tumors with high standardized uptake values in FDG-PET.