Follicular lymphoma with hepatic accumulation on FDG-PET/CT masquerading IgG4-related disease

• Main Authors: Kosuke Ishizuka, MD, Kiyoshi Shikino, MD, PhD, Daiki Yokokawa, MD, PhD, Masatomi Ikusaka, MD, PhD
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2021-10-01
• Series: Radiology Case Reports
• Subjects: Follicular lymphoma; Hepatic accumulation; IgG4-related disease
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1930043321004787

Follicular lymphoma is clinically classified as a common type of indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and its clinical diagnosis is difficult because B symptoms and elevated soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) levels are less frequent in follicular lymphoma than in other lymphomas. We report a case of follicular lymphoma masquerading immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) with elevated IgG4 levels. A 67-year-old man presented to our hospital with a 1-year history of deep right supraclavicular and para-aortic lymph node lymphadenopathy on plain computed tomography (CT) findings along with elevated IgG4 levels, and the 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scan showed heterogeneous diffuse FDG uptake in the liver, and FDG uptake was noted at multiple sites in the enlarged right supraclavicular and para-aortic lymph nodes. Excisional biopsy of the right supraclavicular lymph node, performed under general anesthesia, showed a tumor-like structure mimicking a normal germinal center in the lymphoid follicle; immunostaining was positive for B-cell lymphoma 2 and CD10 proteins with some plasma cells stained with IgG, only 30% of them were positive for IgG4, and no marked fibrosis characteristic of IgG4-RD was observed; therefore, follicular lymphoma was diagnosed, and all symptoms, including FDG uptake, improved with rituximab monotherapy. Differential diagnoses of slowly progressive generalized lymphadenopathy over the years with elevated serum IgG4 levels include IgG4-RD, Castleman's disease, and indolent lymphoma. Multiple accumulation in the liver on FDG-PET/CT, if found, may suggest indolent lymphoma among them.