Usefulness of F-18 FDG-PET in a long-term hemodialysis patient with renal cell carcinoma and pheochromocytoma

A patient who had been on long-term hemodialysis (HD) was diagnosed as having renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and pheochromocytoma. Abdominal computed tomography scanning demonstrated a right renal mass and a right adrenal mass, whereas positron emission tomography (PET) using F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) revealed increased accumulation in both the renal and adrenal masses. FDG-PET is useful for detecting RCC in HD patients because FDG is not excreted in the urine, but it is difficult to distinguish pheochromocytoma from an adrenal metastasis by this imaging method.