Intense F-18 FDG accumulation in stomach in a patient with Hodgkin lymphoma:: Helicobacter pylori infection as a pitfall in oncologic diagnosis with F-18 FDG PET imaging

Helicobacter pylori is a Gram-negative, spiral rod that has been proved to be responsible for chronic antral gastritis. H. pylori infection is the most common chronic infection in humans and is the major cause of gastritis worldwide. This infection is also accepted as the etiologic factor of the majority of peptic ulcers, and has been associated with atrophic gastritis, gastric carcinoma and nonulcer dyspepsia. The authors present F-18 FDG images in a patient with stage IV anaplastic large cell-like Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) that show intense accumulation of F-18 FDG in the stomach that is likely to indicate a malignant disease of the stomach. Histopathologic examination of gastric biopsy specimens obtained by endoscopy revealed chronic atrophic gastritis. The presence of H. pylori was determined histologically. There was no evidence of involvement of HL in the stomach.