Head and Neck Cancer - 66-year-old male with smoking history for 50 years

History
66-year-old male with smoking history for 50 years. Patient began to experience a hoarseness and increased sputum productions 6 weeks ago. Biopsy of the right vocal cord showed squamous carcinoma. There was also moderate to severe squamous atypia of the right tonsil. CT of the heck showed a small nodule deforming the right vocal cord. No other abnormalities were seen. Patient was referred for initial staging of stage II squamous cell carcinoma of the right vocal cord.

PET Findings
There is a 1 cm very hypermetabolic focus in the right mid neck corresponding to the right true vocal cord mass. It has SUV of 7 and is consistent with malignancy. There is no regional lymph node uptake in the neck. In the chest, there is mild mediastinal uptake, mainly in the right paratracheal space and subcarinal space. SUV values are 2.5. This is borderline for malignancy. Both lungs are clear. Abdomen and pelvis are also normal. There is a linear uptake in the mid thoracic spine, approximately T8 or T9. This could represent a mild compression fracture.

Dosage
14.0 mCi FDG

Imaging
CTI REVEAL XL

Courtesy of
Thompson Cancer Survival Center