Detection of a right carotid focus of 18F-FDG predicted an ischemic stroke

A 60-year-old woman was referred into our department for staging of an endometrial carcinoma. In addition to peritoneal and nodes metastases, F-FDG PET/CT showed a calcified plaque of the right carotid with focal uptake. One month later, the patient presented left hemiparesis, suggesting a right hemisphere stroke. MRI confirmed frontal infarction in the anterior cerebral artery territory. F-FDG is suggested to be a valuable tool to detect vessel wall inflammation; detection of focal arterial uptake on PET/CT suggests unstable plaque and requires urgent patient's management to prevent vascular events in a population already weakened by both disease and therapy.