Increased18F-FDG Uptake in the Axillary Lymph Nodes of the Vaccinated Side Associated with COVID-19 Vaccination

Abstract

A 50-year-old female patient underwent18fluorine-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) following modified radical mastectomy for cancer of the left breast. Ten days before the PET/CT, the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccine was injected intramuscularly into the right deltoid muscle. Increased18F-FDG uptake of maximum standardized uptake value (11.0) was observed in the lymph nodes of the right axilla, which had not been observed in the previous PET/CT. The size of the oval-shaped lymph nodes was up to approximately 11×9 mm; however, it was larger than that observed on the previous PET/CT. We contemplate that the increased18F-FDG uptake was a reactive change in the lymph nodes associated with the COVID-19 vaccine.