A prospective study to determine the real value of mesenteric18 F-FDG uptake in cancer patients – Inflammatory or tumoral mesenteric paniculitis?

Abstract Aim To assess the metabolic behavior of mesenteric panniculitis (MP), possible manifestation patterns in18 F-FDG PET/CT imaging and to discover if it is a reliable diagnostic method to differentiate tumor disease from inflammatory condition in this context. Materials and methods A total of 2666 PET/CT scans were evaluated prospectively from April 2012 to August 2013. Thirty patients were included (37 scans) with radiological signs of MP. There were 8 women and 22 men, aged between 39 and 81 years, in the sample. According to the18 F-FDG uptake in the mesenteric lesions, expressed as SUVmax, patients were classified into two different groups: Group A consisted of 10 patients with increased uptake, SUVmax ≥2 or greater than the activity found in the surrounding healthy mesenteric tissue, and Group B (20 patients), SUVmax