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18F-FDG PET/CT Evaluation of Thymomas: a Pictorial Review

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Abstract

The World Health Organization classification divides thymomas according to morphology, epithelial component, and cell atypia. They are grouped into 3 large subgroups: low-risk thymomas (types A, AB, and B1), high-risk thymomas (types B2 and B3), and thymic carcinomas. Tumor subtype represents an independent prognostic factor, which determines therapeutic decision. All thymomas show some degree of 18F-FDG uptake, which tends to increase with the grade of malignancy; this is related to glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) expression. This review collects all types of thymomas with illustrative images and provides a guide to get familiar with histological characteristics of the lesions and have them in mind because, even imaging findings can overlap among subtypes, certain characteristics can be combined to make an accurate diagnosis based on 18F-FDG PET-CT findings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, 101, Daehak-ro Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03080, South Korea

    Vanessa Murad & E. Edmund Kim

  2. Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Fundacion Santa Fe de Bogota University Hospital, Bogota, Colombia

    Vanessa Murad

  3. Department of Radiological Sciences, University of California Medical Center, Irvine, CA, USA

    E. Edmund Kim

  4. Department of Medical Oncology, Kyunghee University Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea

    E. Edmund Kim

Authors
  1. Vanessa Murad
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  2. E. Edmund Kim
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and case review were performed by Vanessa Murad. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Vanessa Murad and E. Edmund Kim commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Vanessa Murad.

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Ethical approval was waived by the institutional ethics committee in view of the retrospective nature of the study.

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Vanessa Murad and E. Edmund Kim declare no competing interests.

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Murad, V., Kim, E.E. 18F-FDG PET/CT Evaluation of Thymomas: a Pictorial Review. Nucl Med Mol Imaging 55, 186–193 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13139-021-00705-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13139-021-00705-7

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