Abnormal FDG and MIBG Activity in the Bones in a Patient With
Neuroblastoma Without Detectable Primary Tumor
Wei Zhang, MD,*† Hongming Zhuang, MD, PhD, FACNM,* and Sabah Servaes, MD*
Abstract: Neuroblastoma is among the most common extracranial solid
tumors in pediatric patients and typically arises anywhere from the neck to
pelvis but most commonly in the adrenal glands. It is extremely rare for a
patient to have extensive metastases from neuroblastoma without primary
tumor being identified. We present a 3-year-old with widespread bone and
bone marrow involvement of the disease revealed on both FDG PET/CT
and MIBG scan, which was pathologically proven as neuroblastoma. How-
ever, extensive imaging did not detect primary tumor anywhere.
Key Words: FDG, MIBG, neuroblastoma, PET/CT
(Clin Nucl Med 2016;41: 632–633)
REFERENCES
1. Podoloff DA. PET/CT and occult primary tumors. J Natl Compr Canc Netw .
2009;7:239–244.
2. Graute V, Jansen N, Sohn HY, et al. Diagnostic role of whole-body [
18
F]-
FDG positron emission tomography in patients with symptoms suspicious
for malignancy after heart transplantation. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2012;
31:958–966.
3. Natoli C, Ramazzotti V, Nappi O, et al. Unknown primary tumors. Biochim
Biophys Acta. 1816;2011:13–24.
4. Saidha NK, Ganguly M, Sidhu HS, et al. The Role of 18 FDG PET-CT in
Evaluation of Unknown Primary Tumours. Indian J Surg Oncol. 2013;4:
236–241.
5. Blodgett TM, Ames JT, Torok FS, et al. Diffuse bone marrow uptake on
whole-body F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in
a patient taking recombinant erythropoietin. Clin Nucl Med. 2004;29:
161–163.
6. Su K, Nakamoto Y, Nakatani K, et al. Diffuse homogeneous bone marrow
uptake of FDG in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Clin Nucl
Med. 2013;38:e33–e34.
7. Takalkar A, Yu JQ, Kumar R, et al. Diffuse bone marrow accumulation of
FDG in a patient with chronic myeloid leukemia mimics hematopoietic
cytokine-mediated FDG uptake on positron emission tomography. Clin Nucl
Med. 2004;29:637–639.
8. Huo L, Luo Y, Zhang T, et al. Unexpected primary osseous lymphoma as the
cause of lactic acidosis in a patient suffering from pancreatitis. Clin Nucl
Med. 2010;35:790–793.
9. Chiang SB, Rebenstock A, Guan L, et al. Diffuse bone marrow involvement
of Hodgkin lymphoma mimics hematopoietic cytokine-mediated FDG up-
take on FDG PET imaging. Clin Nucl Med. 2003;28:674–676.
10. Inoue K, Okada K, Harigae H, et al. Diffuse bone marrow uptake on F-18
FDG PET in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes. Clin Nucl Med.
2006;31:721–723.
11. Hufnagel M, Claviez A, Czech N, et al. Neuroblastoma stage 4S with
123
I-MIBG–positive bone marrow involvement. Pediatr Blood Cancer.
2006;46:264–265.
12. Yang J, Codreanu I, Servaes S, et al. I-131 MIBG post-therapy scan is more
sensitive than I-123 MIBG pretherapy scan in the evaluation of metastatic
neuroblastoma. Nucl Med Commun. 2012;33:1134–1137.
13. Liu B, Zhuang H, Servaes S. Comparison of [
123
I]MIBG and [
131
I]MIBG for
imaging of neuroblastoma and other neural crest tumors. Q J Nucl Med Mol
Imaging. 2013;57:21–28.
14. Codreanu I, Zhuang H. Disparities in uptake pattern of (123)I-MIBG, (18)F-
FDG, and (99m)Tc-MDP within the same primary neuroblastoma. Clin Nucl
Med. 2014;39:e184–e186.
15. Park JR, Eggert A, Caron H. Neuroblastoma: biology, prognosis, and treat-
ment. Hematol Oncol Clin North Am. 2010;24:65–86.
16. Kushner BH. Neuroblastoma: a disease requiring a multitude of imaging
studies. J Nucl Med. 2004;45:1172–1188.
17. Aflalo-Hazan V, Gutman F, Kerrou K, et al. Increased FDG uptake by bone
marrow in major beta-thalassemia. Clin Nucl Med. 2005;30:754–755.
18. Zweifel M, Stenner-Liewen F, Weber A, et al. Increased bone marrow activ-
ity on F-18-FDG PET/CT in granulocyte colony stimulating factor produc-
ing anaplastic thyroid carcinoma. Clin Nucl Med. 2010;35:103–104.
19. Balink H, Nabers H, Kibbelaar RE. High F-18 FDG uptake in bone marrow
by cytokines secreting ectopic mucoepidermoid carcinoma. Clin Nucl Med.
2009;34:823–824.
20. Takahashi S, Kuwabara K, Sawafuji M, et al. F-18 FDG PET imaging in a
patient with granulocyte colony stimulating factor producing pulmonary
pleomorphic carcinoma. Clin Nucl Med. 2008;33:555–557.
Received for publication November 20, 2015; revision accepted December
2, 2015.
From the *Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA;
and †Department of Nuclear Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sci-
ences and Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, People’ s Repub-
lic of China.
Conflicts of interest and sources of funding: none declared.
Correspondence to: Hongming Zhuang, MD, PhD, Department of Radiology,
Children’ s Hospital of Philadelphia, 34th & Civic Ctr Blvd, Philadelphia,
PA 19104. E-mail: zhuang@email.chop.edu.
Copyright © 2016 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
ISSN: 0363-9762/16/4108–0632
DOI: 10.1097/RLU.0000000000001134
FIGURE 1. A 3-year-old boy presented with lethargy and
periorbital ecchymoses. An unwitnessed head trauma was
suspected, and a head CT was performed for further
evaluation. The images did not reveal any subdural
hematoma or skull fracture. Unexpectedly, there were
osseous lesions involving the bilateral mandibular rami and
the greater wing of the sphenoid bones with associated
speculated periosteal new bone formation (arrows).
Osseous metastases from an unknown tumor were diagnosed
based on CT findings.
INTERESTING IMAGE
632 www.nuclearmed.com Clinical Nuclear Medicine • Volume 41, Number 8, August 2016
Copyright © 2016 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.