Abstract
We present the case of a 65-year-old male with squamous cell carcinoma of the thoracic oesophagus on a background of neurofibromatosis type 1. On computed tomography, he was noted to have a large left-sided superior mediastinal mass. Initially, this mass was thought to be metastatic lymphadenopathy; however, it did not display fluorodeoxyglucose uptake on positron emission tomography. Subsequent biopsy confirmed the mass to be a neurofibroma and the patient commenced definitive chemoradiation. Positron emission tomography had a major impact on management since the presumed lymph node disease was not included in the radiation field. In addition, positron emission tomography altered prognostic stratification since lymph node involvement is a poor prognostic factor in oesophageal cancer. We could only identify one other case in the English literature in which positron emission tomography was used to distinguish metastatic carcinoma from a neurofibroma, although there are a number of reports that describe the utility of positron emission tomography in differentiating benign neurofibromas from malignant connective tissue tumours.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 230-232 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Medical Oncology |
Volume | 27 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jun 2010 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Metastatic oesophageal cancer
- Neurofibromatosis
- Oesophageal cancer
- PET
- Type 1 neurofibromatosis