Chronic myeloid leukemia detected on FDG PET/CT imaging in a patient with renal cell carcinoma

It is well known that hematopoietic cytokine stimulation can cause increased fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) accumulation in bone marrow on PET/CT imaging, which simulates that seen in patients with bone marrow metastases. However, increased bone marrow FDG uptake can be caused by other etiologies. We report a patient with operated renal cell carcinoma had no history of hematopoietic cytokine stimulation. The FDG PET/CT images showed increased bone marrow FDG uptake, and the patient was diagnosed as chronic myeloid leukemia. This case revealed that increased FDG uptake on bone marrow may be related to neoplastic disease of the hematopoietic tissues.