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Incidental pituitary uptake on whole-body 18F-FDG PET/CT: a multicentre study

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European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of incidental pituitary uptake on whole-body 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) and to investigate its clinical significance.

Methods

The files of 40,967 patients who underwent whole-body FDG PET/CT were retrospectively reviewed. Quantification of pituitary metabolic activity was obtained by using the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax). Hormone assays and pituitary MRIs were performed to assess pituitary lesions.

Results

Focally increased pituitary FDG uptake on PET/CT was found in 30 of 40,967 patients, accounting for an incidence of 0.073%. The mean SUVmax of 30 patients was 8.9 ± 6.6 (range: 3.2–32.6). Histological diagnosis was obtained in three patients and included two growth hormone-secreting adenomas and one non-functioning adenoma. Hormone assays were performed on serum samples from 11 patients, 2 of whom were shown to have hypersecretion of pituitary hormone. MRI was performed on 19 patients. Abnormal MRI findings suggesting a pituitary mass were found in 18 of 19 cases (94.7%). The mean SUVmax calculated without correction for partial volume effect for macroadenomas was significantly higher than the SUVmax for microadenomas (11.5 ± 8.4 vs 4.8 ± 1.3; p < 0.05). There were no cases diagnosed with metastasis to the pituitary gland during clinical follow-up.

Conclusion

Incidental pituitary FDG uptake was a very rare finding. Cases with incidental pituitary FDG uptake were diagnosed primarily with clinically non-functioning adenomas, and there were also a few functioning adenomas. Further evaluations, including hormone assays and pituitary MRI, are warranted when pituitary uptake is found on FDG PET/CT.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Nuclear Research & Development Program of National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by Ministry of Education, Science & Technology (MEST) (grant code: 2010-0017515) and this work was supported by the Grant of the Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (The Regional Core Research Program/Antiaging and Well-being Research Center).

Conflicts of interest

None.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Samduk 2-ga 50, Daegu, 700-721, Korea

    Shin Young Jeong, Sang-Woo Lee, Sungmin Kang, Ji-Hyoung Seo, Byeong-Cheol Ahn & Jaetae Lee

  2. Radiology, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Daegu, Korea

    Hui Joong Lee

  3. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Yeungnam University Medical Center, Daegu, Korea

    Kyung Ah Chun & Ihn Ho Cho

  4. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center, Daegu, Korea

    Kyung Sook Won & Seok Kil Zeon

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  1. Shin Young Jeong
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Correspondence to Sang-Woo Lee.

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Jeong, S.Y., Lee, SW., Lee, H.J. et al. Incidental pituitary uptake on whole-body 18F-FDG PET/CT: a multicentre study. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 37, 2334–2343 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-010-1571-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-010-1571-5

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