False-Positive 18F-FDG PET/CT Imaging: Dramatic "Flare Response" After Rituximab Administration

Evangelia Skoura1, Kirit Ardeshna, Richard Halsey

  • 1From the *Institute of Nuclear Medicine, and †Department of Hematology, University College London Hospitals, London, United Kingdom.

Clinical Nuclear Medicine
|December 10, 2015
PubMed

We report the case of a 45-year-old woman diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Six months after completion of R-CHOP, she relapsed, and 2 cycles of R-ESHAP were given, with a view to allograft transplant. One month later, F-FDG PET/CT revealed disease progression. Biopsy of lymph nodes showed reactive changes, without evidence of lymphoma. Rituximab, a monoclonal antibody, is used for treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, but its addition may result in an extensive inflammatory response. It is important to be aware of the potential for false-positive F-FDG PET/CT imaging after rituximab therapy. Unexpected findings should be confirmed by biopsy.

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