An Uncommon Case of Pediatric Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma with Bone Metastases and Enchondromas Evaluated Using PET/CT

Nowadays, the utility of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is well established in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The incidence of NPC in the West population, especially in children, is very low. We present the first Italian case of a pediatric patient with NPC followed up with ([.sup.18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose] ( ([.sup.18F-FDG])) PET/CT scan in addition to the standard follow-up imaging methods, including CT and magnetic resonance imaging. The ([.sup.18F-FDG]) PET/CT scan was helpful in discriminating between metastatic and benign osseous lesions, thereby helping clinicians to determine the most appropriate therapeutic regimen. These findings support the clinical utility of ([.sup.18F-FDG]) PET/CT in the diagnostic work-up of pediatric patients with NPC. Keywords: Positron emission tomography, ([.sup.18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose], nasopharyngeal carcinoma, pediatrics Gunumuzde nazofaringeal karsinomda (NFK) pozitron emisyon tomografisi/bilgisayarli tomografinin (PET/BT) kullanimi iyice yerlesmistir. Bati populasyonunda, ozellikle de pediatrik yasta NFK'nin gorulme sikligi cok dusuktur. BT ve manyetik rezonans goruntuleme dahil olmak uzere standart takip goruntuleme yontemlerine ek olarak ([.sup.18)F-florodeoksiglukoz] ( ([.sup.18F-FDG])) PET/BT taramasi yoluyla takip edilen NFK'li ilk Italyan pediatrik hastayi sunuyoruz. ([.sup.18F-FDG]) PET/BT taramasi, metastatik ve iyi huylu kemik lezyonlari arasinda ayrim yapilmasinda ve klinisyenlerin en uygun terapotik rejimi belirlemesine yardimci olmustur. Bu bulgular, NFK'li pediatrik hastalarin tanisal calismalarinda ([.sup.18F-FDG]) PET/BT taramasinin klinik faydasini desteklemektedir. Anahtar kelimeler: Pozitron emisyon tomografisi, ([.sup.18)F-florodeoksiglukoz], nazofaringeal karsinom, pediatri