A false positive for metastatic lymph nodes in the axillary region of a breast cancer patient following mastectomy

Recent advanced imaging modalities such as positron emission tomography (PET) detect malignancies using 2-[18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy- d -glucose (18-FDG) with high accuracy, and they contribute to decisions regarding diagnosis, staging, recurrence, and treatment response. Here, we report a case of false-p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Breast cancer (Tokyo, Japan) Japan), 2011-04, Vol.18 (2), p.141-144
Main Authors: Fujiuchi, Nobuko, Saeki, Toshiaki, Takeuchi, Hideki, Sano, Hiroshi, Takahashi, Takao, Matsuura, Kazuo, Shigekawa, Takashi, Misumi, Misono, Nakamiya, Noriko, Okubo, Katsuhiko, Osaki, Akihiko, Sakurai, Takaki, Matsuda, Hiroshi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Axilla
Breast cancer
Breast Neoplasms - diagnosis
Breast Neoplasms - pathology
Breast Neoplasms - surgery
Cancer patients
Cancer Research
Care and treatment
Case Report
False Positive Reactions
Female
Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
Humans
Lymphatic Metastasis
Mastectomy
Medical research
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Medicine, Experimental
Middle Aged
Oncology
PET imaging
Positron-Emission Tomography
Surgery
Surgical Oncology
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Ultrasound imaging
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Summary:Recent advanced imaging modalities such as positron emission tomography (PET) detect malignancies using 2-[18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy- d -glucose (18-FDG) with high accuracy, and they contribute to decisions regarding diagnosis, staging, recurrence, and treatment response. Here, we report a case of false-positive metastatic lymph nodes that were diagnosed by PET/CT and ultrasonography in a 48-year-old breast cancer patient who had undergone mastectomy. The tumors, which were oval shaped and resembled lymph nodes, were detected by ultrasonography. PET/CT revealed high uptake of 18-FDG in the tumors. To investigate the proposed recurrence and to re-evaluate the biology of the recurrent tumors, a tumor was removed from the brachial plexus of the patient. Histological findings revealed it to be a schwannoma. All imaging modalities including PET/CT failed to distinguish benign tumors from metastatic lymph nodes in the brachial plexus. After resection of the schwannomas, the patient complained of a slight motor disorder of the second finger on the right hand. Hence, it is important to consider a false-positive case of lymph node metastasis in a breast cancer patient following mastectomy.
ISSN:1340-6868
1880-4233
DOI:10.1007/s12282-009-0125-9