CT and ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT features of pulmonary sclerosing hemangioma

Objective: To evaluate characteristics of CT and ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT in pulmonary sclerosing hemangioma (PSH). Methods: A retrospective study involving 12 patients (2 males, 10 females; 24-80 years old) confirmed as PSH by pathology from May 2012 to July 2014 was investigated. All patients underwent chest CT scan, including enhanced CT; and 5 cases underwent whole-body ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT. All imaging data were collected and analyzed to find out a more effective diagnostic method. Results: In 12 PSH patients, 9 had single lesion, of which 4 involved left lung and 5 right lung. The rest 3 patients including 1 with two nodules located in the right lower lobe, and 2 with multiple nodules scattered in several lobes. Plain CT showed all lesions had uniformly isodensity, 4 with calcification, 3 with air meniscus sign. Contrast-enhanced CT examinations showed that the majority lesions were prominent enhancement and few moderate enhancement, all lesions showed vessel marginating sign and 6 with cystic and necrosis area. ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT examinations showed that the lesions displayed patchy pattern of mild to moderate uptake with SUV_max 2.2-4.0. Conclusions: The characteristic CT features of PSH, especially the contrast-enhanced CT imaging, are important for diagnosis. ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT findings are extremely helpful in differentiating PSH from malignant lesions. (authors)