Paravertebral Schwannoma with High Uptake of Fluorodeoxyglucose on Positron Emission Tomography

Abstract

A paravertebral mass was discovered in a 27-year-old woman, while investigating a painful shoulder and arm. CT, MRI and fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) pointed in the direction of a benign mass, but positron emission tomography (PET) showed a high uptake of [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), which was indicative of a malignant lesion. Pathological analysis of the thoracoscopically resected tumour gave us the final diagnosis of a benign schwannoma. This report demonstrates that a high uptake of FDG in a non-malignant mediastinal tumour is possible.

Key Words:

• Paravertebral tumour
• Schwannoma
• PET-scan

Additional information

Notes on contributors

M. De Waele

M. De Waele department of thoracic and vascular surgery Wilrijkstraat 10 2650 Edegem, Belgium Tel.: [phone] Fax: [phone] E-mail: [email protected]