Flare phenomenon in positron emission tomography in a case of breast cancer—a pitfall of positron emission tomography imaging interpretation

Received 8 February 2009; accepted 27 February 2009. published online 23 April 2009.

Abstract

We present an unusual case of breast cancer with increased FDG uptake 4 months after chemotherapy. A PET-CT scan displayed results that mimicked multiple lymph node metastases in the right axilla, the mediastinum, and the bilateral pulmonary hilar regions. However, the increased FDG uptake disappeared 17 months later without any additional medical treatment, suggesting the occurrence of flare phenomenon.

Keywords: Flare phenomenon, Breast cancer, Radionuclide imaging, F-18 FDG PET/CT

a Department of Nuclear Medicine, Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chia-Yi, Taiwan

b Department of Nuclear Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan

c Department of Surgery, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan

d Center of General Education, Chang Jung Christian University, Tainan, Taiwan

Corresponding author.

PII: S0899-7071(09)00054-0

doi:10.1016/j.clinimag.2009.02.001

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