Castleman's Disease of the Retroperitoneum Showing High Accumulation on FDG-PET Scan; Report of a Case

Yoshihiro Kaiwa, Yoshimochi Kurokawa, Takahito Myojin, Makoto Ansai, Tsukasa Inoue, Yoshihiro Nihei, Kenji Kaino, Takaaki Abe*, Yoshihiro Taniyama* and Susumu Satomi

Department of Surgery, Division of Organ Transplantation, Reconstruction & Endoscopic Surgery, Tohoku University Hospital
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology, Endocrinology and Vascular Medicine, Tohoku University Hospital*

A 60-year-old woman referred for examination of a retroperitoneal tumor was found in contrast-enhanced CT to have an enhanced, relatively demarcated mass with a small cyst in the retroperitoneal space. F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) showed high accumulation in the tumor. Neuron-specific enolase was 36.0 ng/ml, the normal range being less than 10.0 ng/ml, necessitating surgery for suspected retroperitoneal malignancy. The resected 77×24 mm tumor proved histopathologically to be hyaline-vascular Castleman's disease. The postoperative course was uneventful and she has shown no signs of recurrence. Castleman's disease is a relatively rare disorder characterized by the benign proliferation of lymphoid tissue. It is difficult to differentiate malignant retroperitoneal tumor and Castleman's disease because both are positive in FDG-PET.

Key words
Castleman's disease, FDG-PET, retroperitoneal tumor

Reprint requests
Yoshihiro Kaiwa Department of Surgery, Division of Organ Transplantation, Reconstruction & Endoscopic Surgery, Tohoku University Hospital
1-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8574 JAPAN

Accepted
November 30, 2004

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