INTRODUCTIONModern eradication treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection requires simple, well tolerated and highly effective therapeutic regimens. These requirements seem at present to be met only by the modern triple therapy, consisting of a proton pump inhibitor in combination with two antiobiotics. 1±4 Per protocol eradication rates have generally been over 90% and acceptable tolerability has been described for both the 14 day standard regimen and the 7-day shortterm therapy. 5±10 The 7-day short-term treatment offers the advantages of fewer side-effects and possibly better compliance, at comparable therapeutic effectiveness. At present, there is much support for the Italian short-term triple therapy with omeprazole (20 mg b.d.) in combination with clarithromycin (250 mg b.d.) and metronidazole or tinidazole (500 mg b.d.). 2,4 Whether the choice of proton pump inhibitor is of importance for the success of bacterial eradication is currently being investigated in several studies.There is a paucity of data regarding the effectiveness of pantoprazole in the triple therapy regimen. 11 Preliminary data suggest that pantoprazole may be substituted for omeprazole without sacri®cing therapeutic ef®c-

This case report shows for the first time the usefulness of positron emission tomography (PET) with 2-[18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) in the diagnosis of primary non Hodgkin's lymphoma of the liver. Results of FDG-PET, which in contrast to other imaging techniques offers the advantage of screening the whole body, demonstrated a high glycolytic activity of a solitary mass in the liver with central necrosis (loss of glycolytic activity), but no spread of lymphoma to the body. These results were confirmed by ultrasound, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and were biopsy proven. From our findings we conclude that in patients with liver masses with high uptake of FDG, lack of liver dysfunction and absence of signs indicating other malignancies, a primary lymphoma of the liver should be considered as a possible diagnosis.

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