PET/MR: primary inferior vena cava leiomyosarcoma

Abstract

Positron emission tomography (PET) combined with a magnetic resonance (MR) scanner (PET/MR) with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) tracer is being used in quite a few nuclear medicine centers. The aim of this study is to illustrate two uncommon cases of primary inferior vena cava leiomyosarcoma which were formerly evaluated with anatomical images such as computed tomography and ultrasound. These techniques were inferior in the definition of the tumor and its characteristics. F-18 FDG PET/MR was essential and provided all the necessary information: its origin, local extension, anatomo-metabolic behavior, form of presentation, and distant metastasis in one single diagnostic technique. PET/MR accurately contributed to the diagnosis in a shortened period of time and, therefore, in the prognosis of this disease with greater benefits.