Evaluation of thymic tumors with 18F-FDG PET-CT: a pictorial review

Acta Radiol. 2013 Feb 1;54(1):14-21. doi: 10.1258/ar.2012.120536.

Abstract

Thymic tumors represent a broad spectrum of neoplastic disorders and pose considerable diagnostic difficulties. A non-invasive imaging study to determine the nature of thymic lesions can have significant impact on management of such tumors. 18F-flurorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) has shown promising results in characterization of thymic tumors. The objective of this article is to provide an illustrative tutorial highlighting the clinical utility of 18F-FDG PET-CT imaging in patients with thymic tumors. We have pictorially depicted the 18F-FDG PET-CT salient imaging characteristics of various thymic tumors, both epithelial and non-epithelial. Also discussed is the dynamic physiology of thymus gland which is to be kept in mind when evaluating thymic pathology on 18F-FDG PET-CT, as it can lead to interpretative pitfalls.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18*
  • Humans
  • Multimodal Imaging*
  • Positron-Emission Tomography*
  • Radiopharmaceuticals*
  • Thymus Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging*
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed*

Substances

  • Radiopharmaceuticals
  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18