CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · World J Nucl Med 2019; 18(04): 416-419
DOI: 10.4103/wjnm.wjnm_106_18
Case Report

Uptake of prostate-specific membrane antigen-targeted 18F-DCFPyL in avascular necrosis of the femoral head

Gonzalo Torga
1   Department of Urology, The James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
,
Yafu Yin
1   Department of Urology, The James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
2   Department of Nuclear Medicine, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
3   Department of Nuclear Medicine, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
,
Martin G. Pomper
1   Department of Urology, The James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
4   The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
,
Kenneth J. Pienta
1   Department of Urology, The James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
,
Michael A. Gorin
1   Department of Urology, The James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
4   The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
,
Steven P. Rowe
1   Department of Urology, The James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
4   The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
› Author Affiliations

Abstract

In recent years, the emergence of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted positron-emission tomography (PET) imaging has brought about a paradigm shift in the way that prostate cancer (PCa) is imaged in many parts of the world. Although PSMA-targeted PET imaging has been demonstrated to be a highly sensitive and specific imaging modality for the identification of sites of PCa, its clinical utility hinges on the ability of imaging specialists and their clinical colleagues to recognize potential false-positive sources of uptake and to tailor therapy based on that recognition. In this manuscript, we report the case of a 74-year-old male with a history of recurrent PCa who was referred for a restaging PSMA-targeted 18F-DCFPyL PET/computed tomography (PET/CT). PET images demonstrated low level but focal and definitive uptake in the left femoral head. This uptake corresponded to sclerotic changes on CT whose morphology was most compatible with avascular necrosis without femoral head collapse. In the presented case, the integrated assessment of the CT imaging together with the PET findings was fundamental to avoid misinterpretation of the left femur finding as metastatic disease, which would have ultimately altered the clinical management of the patient.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.




Publication History

Received: 29 November 2018

Accepted: 24 January 2019

Article published online:
22 April 2022

© 2019. Sociedade Brasileira de Neurocirurgia. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commecial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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