2017 年 4 巻 2 号 p. 95-97
Hematological malignancies have seldom been mentioned as a target of Ningen Dock. Positron-emission tomography (PET) using 18-fluoro-deoxyglucose is known to be highly sensitive in detecting various kinds of malignancies and has increasingly been added to Ningen Dock examinations. We describe the clinical course of a 59-year-old woman who was incidentally diagnosed with follicular lymphoma using PET in a routine health check-up exam. She was treated with 6 cycles of immunochemotherapy, resulting in complete remission. During an observation period of 93 months from presentation, there was no relapse.
Although the efficacy of PET in cancer screening is widely established, the frequency that malignant lymphoma is detected in PET is lower than for other common cancers. Malignant lymphoma is the major type of hematological tumor. PET-based screening has certain problems, one of them cost-effectiveness. It may also lead to overtreatment of low-grade lymphoma and produce false negative results. However, if lymphoma is suspected from the findings, an immediate histological diagnosis is needed to determine the treatment policy.
