Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma studied with FDG-PET: a comparison with CT and endoscopic findings

Objective We investigated the accumulation of 2-deoxy-2-[ 18 F] fluoro- d -glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in patients with mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma patients as compared with computerized tomography (CT) and endoscopic imaging. Methods FDG-PET was performed on 13 untreated patients with MALT lymphoma. CT scanning of the affected areas was performed in all the patients to compare with the FDG-PET images. In five patients with gastric MALT lymphoma, comparison was also made with the endoscopic findings. Results Of the 13 untreated MALT lymphoma patients, all 8 non-gastric MALT lymphoma patients exhibited abnormal accumulation of FDG. However, in the five gastric MALT lymphoma patients, no abnormal FDG accumulation was observed. Although lesions could be confirmed on CT images from the patients other than those with gastric MALT lymphoma, the mucosal lesions of gastric MALT lymphoma could be observed only by endoscopy. Conclusions FDG-PET can be used to detect MALT lymphoma when it forms mass lesions, whereas it is difficult to detect non-massive MALT lymphoma of gastrointestinal origin.