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Rare osteoarticular complications on [18F]FDG-PET/CT — following intravesical BCG immunotherapy for bladder cancer
- Department of Radiology, Municipal Hospital and Academic Teaching Hospital of the Technical University Dresden, Germany
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University, NY, USA
open access
Abstract
This case illustrates rare osteoarticular complications of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) immunotherapy in a 55-year-old male with high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). The patient was referred for 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose ([18F]FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) to rule out bone metastases suspected on prior post-gadolinium magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Although metastases were excluded, nearly symmetrical uptakes were detected in the costovertebral and costotransverse joints. Medical history revealed that the patient had been receiving intravesical instillations of BCG, the first-line therapy for high-risk NMIBC. The patient was diagnosed with reactive arthritis (ReA), a rare autoimmune complication of BCG, that was successfully treated with a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID).
Abstract
This case illustrates rare osteoarticular complications of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) immunotherapy in a 55-year-old male with high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). The patient was referred for 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose ([18F]FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) to rule out bone metastases suspected on prior post-gadolinium magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Although metastases were excluded, nearly symmetrical uptakes were detected in the costovertebral and costotransverse joints. Medical history revealed that the patient had been receiving intravesical instillations of BCG, the first-line therapy for high-risk NMIBC. The patient was diagnosed with reactive arthritis (ReA), a rare autoimmune complication of BCG, that was successfully treated with a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID).
Keywords
oncology treatment; NMIBC therapy; BCG side effects; reactive arthritis; metastasis
Title
Rare osteoarticular complications on [18F]FDG-PET/CT — following intravesical BCG immunotherapy for bladder cancer
Journal
Issue
Article type
Clinical vignette
Pages
68-69
Published online
2022-01-20
Page views
5904
Article views/downloads
546
DOI
Pubmed
Bibliographic record
Nucl. Med. Rev 2022;25(1):68-69.
Keywords
oncology treatment
NMIBC therapy
BCG side effects
reactive arthritis
metastasis
Authors
Jan-Henning Schierz
Anke McLeod
Farzana Ali