18F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake and apparent diffusion coefficient in lung schwannoma

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Radiology
• Pulmonology

Background:

• Intrapulmonary schwannomas are rare primary lung tumors originating from nerve sheath cells.
• Preoperative diagnosis of intrapulmonary schwannoma is infrequent, often leading to surgical resection for definitive diagnosis.
• Pulmonary nodules require accurate characterization to differentiate benign from malignant lesions.

Observation:

• A 38-year-old woman presented with a pulmonary hilar nodule.
• The nodule demonstrated intense (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake (SUVmax 5.98) on positron emission tomography (PET).
• Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) revealed a high apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of 2.5 × 10(3) mm(2)/s.

Findings:

• The combination of high FDG uptake on PET and a high ADC value on DW-MRI was observed in this intrapulmonary schwannoma.
• These functional imaging characteristics suggest a potential role in the preoperative radiological diagnosis of intrapulmonary schwannoma.
• The case illustrates the utility of advanced imaging in characterizing rare pulmonary neoplasms.

Implications:

• Integrating PET and DW-MRI may improve the preoperative diagnostic accuracy for intrapulmonary schwannoma.
• Further studies are warranted to validate the diagnostic performance of these combined functional imaging techniques for intrapulmonary schwannoma.
• Accurate preoperative diagnosis can potentially guide management strategies and avoid unnecessary invasive procedures for benign lesions.