FDG-avid venous malformation could mimic malignancy on 18F-FDG PET/CT.
Overview
abstract
A 49-year-old female patient with melanoma underwent FDG PET/CT for surveillance. PET/CT demonstrated multiple mildly FDG-avid soft tissue attenuation lesions in the pelvis of unknown etiology. MRI was performed for further evaluation. MRI demonstrated multiple dilated vascular structures measuring up to 2.5 cm consistent with venous malformation. Follow-up PET/CT 1 and 2 years later demonstrated stable FDG-avid soft-tissue densities in the pelvis representing venous malformation. No recurrence or distant metastases were identified. This case demonstrates how a benign FDG-avid vascular malformation on PET/CT could have been misinterpreted as malignancy. Biopsy of a vascular malformation could have had dire consequences.
