- Volume 3
- Issue 2 Publication Date: September 2002
Simultaneous Occurrence of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and Eosinophilic Granuloma: A Potential Pitfall in Positron Emission Tomography Imaging
Ralph Naumann, Bettina Beuthien-Baumann, Rainer Fischer, Thomas Kittner, Jan Bredow, Joachim Kropp, Detlef Ockert, Gerhard Ehninger
Positron emission tomography (PET) with [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose [18F]FDG has evolved as a method of increasingly clinical importance in the management of patients with malignant lymphoma. However, inflammatory lesions also accumulate [18F]FDG and may cause difficulties with interpretation. This report deals with 2 patients with simultaneous occurrence of Hodgkin’s lymphoma and eosinophilic granuloma, a rare but known coincidence of diseases. In the first case, Hodgkin’s disease could not be differentiated from eosinophilic granuloma. Positron emission tomography showed increased [18F]FDG uptake both in lymphoma manifestations and in the granuloma. In the second case with proven Hodgkin’s disease, post-treatment examination showed a positive PET lesion in the mediastinal residual mass, which was interpreted as viable lymphoma. However, histologic examination revealed that it was an eosinophilic granuloma.