Ipilimumab-induced colitis on FDG PET/CT

Clin Nucl Med. 2012 Jun;37(6):629-30. doi: 10.1097/RLU.0b013e318248549a.

Abstract

A 52-year-old woman with metastatic melanoma was treated with ipilimumab. After 2 cycles of treatment, she developed watery diarrhea, sweats, and chills. An FDG PET/CT study demonstrated new FDG-avid (maximum standardized uptake value 15.6) diffuse colonic wall thickening, suggestive of ipilimumab-induced colitis. The patient was treated with systemic steroids, with subsequent resolution of her symptoms. Based on the response to steroids, the diagnosis of ipilimumab-induced enterocolitis was made. Ipilimumab may cause several immune-mediated toxicities, the most common of which is enterocolitis. Physicians interpreting FDG PET/CT examinations of patients treated with ipilimumab should be aware of these FDG-avid immune-mediated toxicities.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Antibodies, Monoclonal / adverse effects*
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal / therapeutic use
  • Antineoplastic Agents / adverse effects*
  • Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use
  • Colitis / chemically induced*
  • Colitis / diagnostic imaging*
  • Female
  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18*
  • Humans
  • Ipilimumab
  • Melanoma / drug therapy
  • Middle Aged
  • Multimodal Imaging*
  • Positron-Emission Tomography*
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed*

Substances

  • Antibodies, Monoclonal
  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Ipilimumab
  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18