False-Positive [¹⁸F]FET-Uptake in a Developmental Venous Anomaly: A Diagnostic Pitfall.

McLeod, Anke; Hesse, Swen; Badendick, Maja; Henssen, Dylan; Tiepolt, Solveig · Clin Nucl Med · 2026

case_report · Level V

Where this comes from

Abstract

A 60-year-old patient with right temporal glioblastoma (WHO CNS grade 4) underwent resection and chemoradiation. Seven-month follow-up MRI showed new contrast enhancement at the resection margin. To distinguish tumor recurrence from treatment-related changes, [18F]FET-PET/MRI was performed. Intense [18F]FET tracer accumulation in the contrast-enhancing right temporal lesion suggested tumor recurrence (TBRmax: 2.8; TBRmean: 1.9). A second focal [18F]FET-uptake in the right cerebellum (TBRmax: 2.3; TBRmean: 1.7) corresponded to a "Medusa head" venous pattern on MRI. This finding is consistent with a developmental venous anomaly (DVA). Correlation of [18F]FET-uptake with MRI features is essential to avoid diagnostic pitfalls, such as DVAs.

Medical subject headings