¹⁸F-FDG PET-CT in the Management of Patients Receiving Definitive Radiotherapy for Malignancies of the Head and Neck

Figure 3

False-positive PET-CT: 49-year-old man with squamous cell carcinoma of the right tonsil, clinical stage T1 N2, treated with concurrent radiation therapy with Cisplatin. (a) PET-CT to evaluate for recurrent disease 17 months after completing therapy showed intense asymmetric hypermetabolism along the anterior edge of the treated site where no significant abnormalities were apparent on physical exam. Two subsequent biopsies of the area had benign findings on pathology. (b) PET-CT, 5 months later and 22 months following completion of therapy, showed resolution of the asymmetric hypermetabolism around the treated region. Over the subsequent 46 months of follow-up, there was no clinical evidence of recurrent malignancy (total 68 months of follow-up).

(a)

(b)