18F-FDG PET/CT and primary hepatic MALT: a case series

Primary hepatic mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma is an extremely rare disease and its glucidic metabolic behavior is not clear. We retrospectively analyzed five patients with histological diagnosis of primary hepatic MALT lymphoma who underwent twelve 18F-FDG PET/CT. All staging 18F-FDG PET/CT were positive showing 18F-FDG uptake (average SUVmax was 5.62 ± 1.6) at the corresponding liver lesion. 18F-FDG PET/CT also was useful in evaluating the complete metabolic response after chemotherapy in three patients and radiotherapy in two. Besides, in one patient 18F-FDG PET/CT detected disease relapse during follow-up. Despite the low number of patients, our case series shows the 18F-FDG avidity of hepatic MALT and the possible role of 18F-FDG PET/CT in the management of these patients, both for staging, treatment response evaluation and restaging. Further studies are needed to confirm our results.