Sentinel Node Mapping in Melanoma of the Back: SPECT/CT Helps Discriminate "True" and "False" in-Transit Lymph Nodes

Clin Nucl Med. 2016 Jan;41(1):e66-7. doi: 10.1097/RLU.0000000000000838.

Abstract

A 32-year-old man with melanoma on the right paramedian region of the lower back underwent lymphoscintigraphy for radioguided sentinel node (SN) biopsy. Planar imaging showed the presence of 2 sites of radioactivity accumulation corresponding to an axillary SN and to an "in-transit" SN, located on the right side of the upper trunk. A further "hot spot" placed on the left paramedian region of the lower back was identified by planar lymphoscintigraphy. This last finding could be mistaken for another "in-transit" SN, but SPECT/CT demonstrated it was actually a nonspecific radiopharmaceutical accumulation at the level of the right renal pelvis.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Axilla / diagnostic imaging
  • Back / diagnostic imaging
  • False Negative Reactions
  • False Positive Reactions
  • Humans
  • Lymphatic Metastasis / diagnostic imaging
  • Lymphoscintigraphy
  • Male
  • Melanoma / diagnosis
  • Melanoma / diagnostic imaging
  • Melanoma / pathology
  • Multimodal Imaging*
  • Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy / methods
  • Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon* / methods
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed* / methods