contribution of 18f-fdg pet/ct in the staging of pancreatic solid pseudopapillary neoplasms: a case report

Solid pseudopapillary neoplasm (spn) is an extremely rare pancreatic epithelial neoplasm with low malignancy that affects mainly young females. it is characterized by a good prognosis, even in the presence of metastases. spns have a particular avidity for 18ffluorodeoxyglucose (18f-fdg). nonetheless, there are very few papers in the literature on the use of 18f-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18f-fdg pet/ct) in the diagnosis and staging of spns. a 23-year-oldwomanpresented to our attention with gastric outlet obstruction due to a bulky solid pseudopapillary neoplasm of the pancreatic head. a 18f-fdg pet/ct showed a marked 18f-fdg uptake at the pancreatic head with no abnormal metabolic activity in other abdominal organs. given the particular avidity for 18f-fdg, spns can be easily recognized on 18f-fdg pet/ct. however, this exam is not useful in differentiating this neoplasm from other malignant pancreatic solid lesions, but it could give a contribution to the staging by the ability to identify potential metastases or recurrences.