18FDG PET/CT Tumoral and Neurologic Therapeutic Response in a Case of Anti-GABABR Paraneoplastic Limbic Encephalitis

Clin Nucl Med. 2023 Mar 1;48(3):237-239. doi: 10.1097/RLU.0000000000004552. Epub 2023 Jan 20.

Abstract

A 70-year-old man with a history of small cell lung carcinoma 2 years earlier was addressed for the suspicion of a paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis. Brain 18FDG PET/CT revealed a bilateral amygdalian and hippocampal hypermetabolism, confirming a limbic encephalitis, and concurrent whole-body 18FDG PET/CT showed a small cell lung carcinoma plurifocal metastatic recurrence, consistent with a paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis. 18FDG PET/CT follow-up under chemotherapy revealed an almost complete normalization of brain metabolism and a partial metabolic response of the metastatic recurrence, consistent with the good clinical neurological evolution of the patient. This case highlights the clinical-metabolic imaging correlation in paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
  • Humans
  • Limbic Encephalitis* / complications
  • Limbic Encephalitis* / diagnostic imaging
  • Lung Neoplasms* / complications
  • Lung Neoplasms* / diagnostic imaging
  • Lung Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Male
  • Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography
  • Small Cell Lung Carcinoma* / complications
  • Small Cell Lung Carcinoma* / diagnostic imaging

Substances

  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18