Vaginal gauze packing mimicking malignancy in a patient with uterine cervical cancer: A pitfall of F-18 FDG PET/CT
Journal
Clinical Nuclear Medicine
Journal Volume
35
Journal Issue
5
Pages
381-383
Date Issued
2010
Abstract
This 54-year-old patient was diagnosed with advanced stage cervical cancer. After completion of concurrent chemoradiotherapy, an F-18 FDG PET/CT scan for assessing treatment response showed 2 foci with marked radioactivity in the pelvic region. The accompanying CT images localized one focus in the uterine cervix and another in the vagina. The focus in the vagina, which mimicked malignancy, proved to be urine-soaked vaginal gauze inserted after pelvic physical examination. This case report demonstrates a potential pitfall when interpreting F-18 FDG PET scans in patients with cervical cancer. It also emphasizes the importance of history taking, CT scan correlation, and dual time point imaging.
SDGs
Type
journal article