Expression of GLUT-1 and GLUT-3 in xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis induced a positive result on ¹⁸F-FDG PET: report of a case

Although several reports have revealed that fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography ((18)F-FDG PET) is useful for differentiating between benign and malignant lesions in the gallbladder, the positive results of (18)F-FDG PET are not specific for malignancy because (18)F-FDG is also accumulated in inflammatory lesions. It is known that the most important pathway for (18)F-FDG to enter the cell body is mediated by the facilitative glucose transporter-1 (GLUT-1) through GLUT-3. We herein present a case of xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis (XGC) with a positive result on (18)F-FDG PET. In this case, GLUT-1 and GLUT-3 were both positively expressed in inflammatory cells at the gallbladder wall of XGC and this is the first report to reveal GLUT expression in XGC. This report reveals that surgeons should carefully consider the appropriate treatment of gallbladder tumor, even with a positive result on (18)F-FDG PET.