F-18 FDG PET Imaging of Cervical Tuberculous Lymphadenitis

A 58-year-old woman presented with a half-year history of multiple enlarging right frontal neck masses. She denied cough, pain, or any other symptoms. The CT and MRI scan detected only multiple right neck lymphadenopathy. Since malignant lymphoma was suspected, a whole body F-18 FDG PET was performed, and revealed increased tracer uptake of the neck tumor. No other lesions with elevated F-18 FDG accumulation were found. After an open biopsy, a lymph node specimen confirmed tuberuclous lymphadenitis without malignancy. F-18 FDG PET for cervical lymphadenopathy can be associated with false-positive findings, which may lead to a wrong diagnosis.