Secondary neurolymphomatosis of spinal nerve roots detected by ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT: a case report and differential diagnosis of the case.

OBJECTIVE: Neurolymphomatosis (NL) is a rare neurological manifestation of lymphoma. Clinical symptoms of NL differ greatly according to the sites involved and diagnosis with conventional imaging techniques may sometimes be difficult. We herein describe the case of a 58 years old man presenting as radiculopathy with a history of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Computed tomography (CT) was unrevealing and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was contraindicated. Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT) was performed and revealed multiple hypermetabolic lesions along the nerve roots, which corresponded to the patient's neurological symptoms. A differential diagnosis of patients with lymphomatous involvement of spinal nerve roots has been presented.

CONCLUSION: Our case suggests that ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT successfully detected the infiltration of spinal nerve roots of NL due to lymphoma.