Typical and Atypical Bronchopulmonary Carcinoid Tumors on FDG PET/CT Imaging

The authors report 2 cases of bronchial carcinoid tumor (BCT). One had a typical and the other had an atypical histologic pattern. BCTs represent 1 to 2% of all lung cancers and are usually located in the hilar or perihilar areas. They can be associated with infectious processes. Typical carcinoids are considered as having low-grade malignancy although atypical carcinoids are of intermediate grade. The authors showed that even a typical carcinoid can show intense F-18 FDG uptake. The number of reports of BCT in PET imaging using FDG in BCT is very limited, but several cases of FDG-negative BCT have been described.