18F-FDG PET/CT features of ureteral metastases from breast cancer: a case report

Abstract

Breast cancer metastasis to the ureter is rare. Fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET)/computed tomography (CT) is widely used to identify primary lesions of metastatic tumours, however, 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging features of ureteral metastasis from breast cancer are rarely reported. Herein, the case of a 46-year-old woman with recurrent left flank pain for 5 months, who was admitted to the Cancer Hospital of Guangxi Medical University and Guangxi Cancer Research Institute, is described. She had undergone right radical mastectomy 5 years previously and had received tamoxifen treatment for 5 years. Assessment by 18F-FDG PET/CT revealed tumours on the ureter presenting as a long segmental lesion, radioactive concentrations, and a low maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), with no radioactive concentrations in the urine and no significant change in the ureteral contour. The severity of the ureteral lesion was not consistent with the severity of hydronephrosis. A tumour biopsy was performed laparoscopically, and postoperative pathological examination confirmed a primary breast cancer tumour. The patient did not consent to treatment and was lost to follow-up.

Diagnostic and Therapeutic Challenges in a Patient with Ureteral Metastases from a Triple Negative Breast Cancer

“…Despite the wide use of (18)F-FDG PET/CT in modern oncology, in urological oncology, this imaging technique has shown limited value due to the low uptake and to the excretion of FDG via the urine. The consequence of this limitation is that there is a lack of relevant studies stressing the diagnostic value of PET/CT aw a single diagnostic modality [ 22 , 24 , 25 ].…”

FDG PET/CT in a Case of Primary Lymphoma of the Ureter

“…[5][6][7][8] On FDG PET/CT, ureteral lymphoma lesions may show focal or segmental FDG uptake. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] This case indicates that, although rare, primary lymphoma of the ureter should be included in the differential diagnosis of hypermetabolic ureteral lesions including urothelial carcinoma, 17 metastasis, 18 inflammatory hyperplasia, 19 and malakoplakia. 20,21…”