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Diffuse Subcutaneous Fat Involvement in a Marginal Zone Lymphoma
Julien Dubreuil1, Robin Noel, Jeremie Tordo
1From the *Nuclear Medicine Department, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon; †Equipe Mixte de Recherche 3738, Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University; ‡Hematology Department, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon; and §Faculty of Medicine Lyon Sud, Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University.
Clinical Nuclear Medicine
|December 13, 2016
Summary
Marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) is typically not detected by FDG-PET/CT scans. This case highlights atypical subcutaneous fat involvement of MZL, even without signs of transformation or skin lesions.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Nuclear Medicine
- Dermatology
Background:
- Marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) is a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
- MZL is generally considered to have low avidity for 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) on positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT).
- Assessing transformation in MZL can be challenging, especially with atypical presentations.
Observation:
- A 57-year-old male patient presented with suspected transformation of MZL.
- FDG-PET/CT revealed diffuse, atypical involvement of subcutaneous fat.
- No clinical signs of cutaneous involvement or transformation were evident.
Findings:
- The FDG-PET/CT findings were atypical for MZL, showing diffuse subcutaneous fat uptake.
- Despite the imaging findings, there were no clear indicators of lymphoma transformation.
- A random subcutaneous biopsy confirmed the presence of MZL in the affected fat tissue.
Implications:
- This case expands the understanding of FDG avidity in Marginal Zone Lymphoma.
- It suggests that diffuse subcutaneous fat involvement on FDG-PET/CT can occur in MZL, even without transformation.
- Highlights the importance of correlating imaging findings with histopathology for accurate diagnosis and staging.
