A Consistently Elevated Pineal Gland Uptake of 18 F-MFBG as a Physiological Normal Variant.

Clin Nucl MedOct 20, 2026 (epub)
Case ReportNuclear MedicinePediatricsOncology (Medical)

Keyu Zhang, Xiaoya Wang, Bingyan Zhang et al.

✦ AI-curated · Sources linked

Case in brief

A 3-year-old girl with high-risk neuroblastoma underwent 18F-MFBG PET/CT to assess treatment response. Imaging showed focal pineal gland uptake, also present on concurrent 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT. Brain MRI showed no evidence of metastasis, and follow-up 18F-MFBG PET/CT showed unchanged uptake at the same site. The concordant tracer findings, negative MRI, and stability on serial imaging supported interpreting the pineal activity as a physiological normal variant rather than metastatic disease.

What made this case unusual

Pineal uptake was seen with both 18F-MFBG and 68Ga-DOTATATE and remained stable on follow-up 18F-MFBG imaging, despite the patient’s high-risk neuroblastoma.

Diagnostic / clinical pearl

In a child with neuroblastoma, focal pineal 18F-MFBG uptake should be interpreted alongside MRI, uptake on other tracers, and interval imaging; concordant physiological uptake and stability supported a normal variant in this case.

Source

PubMed · PMID 42912571

Published in Clin Nucl Med. This summary was written by xxcode from the publication's abstract and metadata. It is not peer reviewed and is not a substitute for the original article. For clinical decisions, review the original publication.

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