Diffuse lymphoma involvement of the spinal cord showed on [18F]FDG PET/MRI.

Abstract

A 61-year-old woman with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma received a fluorine-18-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ([¹⁸F]FDG PET/CT) for staging. Because of the obvious uptake of [¹⁸F]FDG in the spinal cord and brain, a positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) was performed after the positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT). The images showed diffuse [¹⁸F]FDG uptake of the spinal cord and increased T2 signal intensity on MRI, which was suspected to be lymphoma involvement. The patient was diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma involving the right maxillofacial region, right cervical lymph nodes, cervix, brain and spinal cord (stage IV of non-germinal center B-cell origin). After chemotherapy, the spinal [¹⁸F]FDG uptake level decreased significantly, which was considered to be a partial metabolic response. Our case was different from prior, which indicated the pattern of spinal cord involvement by lymphoma was focal.