Case Report

Hydatid cyst of the liver mimicking metastasis on FDG PET/CT scan in a patient with colon cancer

10.5455/gulhane.24400

  • Gökhan Koca
  • Seyfettin Ilgan
  • Mehmet T. Kitapçı

Received Date: 23.09.2011 Accepted Date: 21.05.2012 Gulhane Med J 2012;54(3):243-247

The liver is the most common site for metastatic spread in patients with colorectal carcinoma. In addition to conventional radiological investigations, F-18 FDG PET/CT is being used in staging of the colon cancer with a widely increasing manner. FDG, used in imaging, is not a tumor specific radiopharmaceutic, and it may be uptaken in many benign pathologies. This situation may sometimes cause difficulty in differential diagnosis. In this article findings of the liver cyst hydatid mimicking metastasis on FDG PET/ CT scan in a case with colon cancer are presented. Hydatid cyst should be considered in differential diagnosis of liver lesions on PET scan, especially in countries where zoonotic infections are relatively common as in ours. In this case report findings that may contribute to the differential diagnosis of hydatid cyst and metastasis on FDG PET/BT scan are discussed.

Keywords: FDG PET/CT, hydatid cyst, liver, colon cancer, metastasis