Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography Alert Finding in an Esophageal Cancer Patient

Indian J Nucl Med. 2021 Jan-Mar;36(1):80-81. doi: 10.4103/ijnm.IJNM_63_20. Epub 2021 Mar 4.

Abstract

Emergency pathologies often accompany malignancies. We herein report a case of pulmonary abscess in a patient with esophageal cancer which was depicted during the F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) staging study. The patient's history of recent dilatation of the cancer stenosis in adjunct to the previous CT lung imaging, which was normal, made evident the diagnosis of the pulmonary abscess due to the perforation of the esophageal neoplasm. This life-threatening condition was promptly referred and successfully managed.

Keywords: Esophageal cancer; F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography; pulmonary abscess.