Abstract
As part of the therapeutic evaluation, positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) was performed on a 39-year-old patient with metastatic melanoma of the left thigh who was subsequently receiving immunotherapy. The examination revealed pathologic hypermetabolic foci in the lymph nodes and liver along with a highly suspicious pathologic hypermetabolic foci in the spinal marrow at the level of the first lumbar vertebra (L1). The presence of such a hypermetabolic focus can significantly decrease survival duration, highlighting the importance of early detection. PET/CT with 18F-FDG proved to be more sensitive and specific than CT alone in identifying occult distant metastases, as the latter may underestimate malignant involvement of the spinal marrow.
Keywords:
PET-18F-FDG, melanoma, spinal marrow, metastasis
Ethics
Informed Consent: Informed consents of the patient was obtained.
Authorship Contributions
Concept: C.B., S.O.N., K.B., O.A.S., Y.B., A.D., Design: C.B., S.O.N., O.A.S., Y.B., A.D., Data Collection or Processing: C.B., Analysis or Interpretation: C.B., S.O.N., A.D., Literature Search: C.B., Writing: C.B.
Conflict of Interest: No conflicts of interest were declared by the authors.
Financial Disclosure: The authors declare that this study has received no financial support.
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