68Ga-PSMA-11 uptake in tracheal mucus plug - a potential pitfall

Kunal Ramesh Chandekar; Apurva Sood; Rajender Kumar; Harmandeep Singh; Shrawan Kumar Singh

doi:10.1007/s13139-021-00729-z

68Ga-PSMA-11 uptake in tracheal mucus plug - a potential pitfall

Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2022 Feb;56(1):63-66. doi: 10.1007/s13139-021-00729-z. Epub 2022 Jan 31.

Authors

Kunal Ramesh Chandekar¹, Apurva Sood¹, Rajender Kumar¹, Harmandeep Singh¹, Shrawan Kumar Singh²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nuclear Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, 160012 India.
² Department of Urology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, 160012 India.

Abstract

Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET/CT is a well-acclaimed imaging modality for prostate cancer (PCa). However, many reports have highlighted PSMA radioligand uptake in a variety of benign tumors and lesions. We report a case of PCa in which ⁶⁸ Ga-PSMA-11 uptake was noted in the tracheal lumen. However, ¹⁸F-PSMA-1007 PET/CT was done on a subsequent day, which demonstrated no abnormal radiotracer uptake or morphological lesion within the tracheal lumen. This case highlights an uncommon finding of PSMA ligand uptake in a tracheal mucus plug (non-prostatic benign uptake), which may be misinterpreted as a false-positive finding.

Keywords: Mucus plug; PET/CT; Pitfall; Prostate cancer; Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA); Trachea.