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Published in: European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging 8/2014

Open Access 01-08-2014 | Original Article

Characterizing IgG4-related disease with 18F-FDG PET/CT: a prospective cohort study

Authors: Jingjing Zhang, Hua Chen, Yanru Ma, Yu Xiao, Na Niu, Wei Lin, Xinwei Wang, Zhiyong Liang, Fengchun Zhang, Fang Li, Wen Zhang, Zhaohui Zhu

Published in: European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging | Issue 8/2014

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Abstract

Purpose

IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is an increasingly recognized clinicopathological disorder with immune-mediated inflammatory lesions mimicking malignancies. A cohort study was prospectively designed to investigate the value of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in characterizing IgG4-RD.

Methods

Thirty-five patients diagnosed with IgG4-RD according to the consensus criteria were enrolled with informed consent. All patients underwent baseline 18F-FDG PET/CT evaluation. Among them, 29 patients underwent a second 18F-FDG PET/CT scan after 2 to 4 weeks of steroid-based therapy.

Results

All 35 patients were found with 18F-FDG-avid hypermetabolic lesion(s); 97.1 % (34/35) of these patients showed multi-organ involvement. Among the 35 patients, 71.4 % (25/35) patients were found with more organ involvement on 18F-FDG PET/CT than conventional evaluations including physical examination, ultrasonography, and computed tomography (CT). 18F-FDG PET/CT demonstrated specific image characteristics and pattern of IgG4-RD, including diffusely elevated 18F-FDG uptake in the pancreas and salivary glands, patchy lesions in the retroperitoneal region and vascular wall, and multi-organ involvement that cannot be interpreted as metastasis. Comprehensive understanding of all involvement aided the biopsy-site selection in seven patients and the recanalization of ureteral obstruction in five patients. After 2 to 4 weeks of steroid-based therapy at 40 mg to 50 mg prednisone per day, 72.4 % (21/29) of the patients showed complete remission, whereas the others exhibited > 81.8 % decrease in 18F-FDG uptake.

Conclusion

F-FDG PET/CT is a useful tool for assessing organ involvement, monitoring therapeutic response, and guiding interventional treatment of IgG4-RD. The image pattern is suggested to be updated into the consensus diagnostic criteria for IgG4-RD.
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Metadata
Title
Characterizing IgG4-related disease with 18F-FDG PET/CT: a prospective cohort study
Authors
Jingjing Zhang
Hua Chen
Yanru Ma
Yu Xiao
Na Niu
Wei Lin
Xinwei Wang
Zhiyong Liang
Fengchun Zhang
Fang Li
Wen Zhang
Zhaohui Zhu
Publication date
01-08-2014
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging / Issue 8/2014
Print ISSN: 1619-7070
Electronic ISSN: 1619-7089
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-014-2729-3

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