Role of 18F-FDG PET/CT in the staging of pediatric peritoneal mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of Role of 18F-FDG PET/CT in the staging of pediatric peritoneal mesothelioma, by G. Abikhzer, K. Gourevich, M. Arkovitz, et al (Clinical Nuclear Medicine, 2013).

The study

• Authors: G. Abikhzer, K. Gourevich, M. Arkovitz, S. Postovsky, Z. Keidar
• Journal: Clinical Nuclear Medicine
• Published: 2013;38(8):e331-2
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 3 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

A 7-year-old girl with a 1-month history of diffuse abdominal pain underwent an ultrasound which showed a pelvic mass with multiple peritoneal implants and ascites. An US-guided core biopsy of one of the implants as well as a transrectal biopsy of the pelvic tumor showed pathological findings consistent with epithelioid mesothelioma. We describe the findings on (18)F-FDG PET/CT in pediatric peritoneal mesothelioma.

In plain English

This is a short 'interesting image' report about one patient. The authors described a 7-year-old girl who had diffuse abdominal pain for 1 month. An ultrasound showed a mass in the pelvis, multiple implants on the peritoneum (the lining of the abdomen) and fluid in the abdomen. Biopsies of one implant and of the pelvic tumor showed findings consistent with epithelioid mesothelioma. An 18F-FDG PET/CT scan, which highlights areas of high sugar uptake, showed intense uptake along the entire peritoneal lining of the abdomen and pelvis, with more distinct masses in the omentum. Apart from mild normal uptake in the thymus, nothing was found outside the abdomen. The report did not describe any asbestos exposure history for the girl. In background comments, the authors wrote that mesothelioma in children has no clear association with asbestos exposure. To the authors' knowledge, no PET/CT scan of this cancer in children had been reported before. The authors concluded that FDG PET/CT can help in diagnosing this cancer, because of its characteristic pattern, and in staging it.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Case report (single-patient 'Interesting Image' report)
• Who was studied: One 7-year-old girl with peritoneal mesothelioma. The authors are from Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel. Dates of care are not given; the report was received for publication in March 2012.
• Exposure: No asbestos or other exposure history is reported for the patient. In background, the authors state that mesothelioma in children has no clear association with asbestos exposure.
• Main results:
  • Ultrasound showed a pelvic mass with multiple peritoneal implants and ascites (fluid in the abdomen).
  • Biopsies of a peritoneal implant and of the pelvic tumor showed findings consistent with epithelioid mesothelioma.
  • 18F-FDG PET/CT showed intense uptake involving the entire peritoneal lining of the abdomen and pelvis.
  • More distinct masses were seen in the omentum. Apart from mild normal (physiological) uptake in the thymus, there were no findings outside the abdomen.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that FDG PET/CT can help in diagnosing pediatric peritoneal mesothelioma, because of its characteristic pattern, and in staging it. They noted that, to their knowledge, no PET/CT scan of this cancer in children had been reported before.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Mesothelioma, Peritoneal mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Staging, Peritoneal Mesothelioma, Ultrasound, Ascites, Biopsy, Epithelioid, Mesothelioma.

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