Emily
Editor, Senior Moderator
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8820752/
Hughes, N. M., Hammer, M. M., Awad, M. M., & Jacene, H. A. (2022). Radiation Recall Pneumonitis on FDG PET/CT Triggered by COVID-19 Vaccination. Clinical nuclear medicine, 47(3), e281–e283. https://doi.org/10.1097/RLU.0000000000003980
Abstract
A 67-year-old man with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma was initially treated with whole-brain radiotherapy for intracranial metastases, followed by chemotherapy and pembrolizumab. After completing 2 years of systemic therapy, the primary right lung lesion was biopsy-proven to have residual adenocarcinoma, which was then treated with radiation (6000 cGy in 15 fractions). Follow-up serial FDG PET/CT showed radiation fibrosis. Eighteen months after radiotherapy, the patient received 2 doses of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. FDG PET/CT performed 4 days following his second vaccine dose showed FDG-avid multistation lymphadenopathy and radiation recall pneumonitis, likely vaccination-induced and mimicking recurrent disease. This resolved spontaneously without therapy.
Key Words: COVID-19, pneumonitis, radiation, recall, vaccination
Hughes, N. M., Hammer, M. M., Awad, M. M., & Jacene, H. A. (2022). Radiation Recall Pneumonitis on FDG PET/CT Triggered by COVID-19 Vaccination. Clinical nuclear medicine, 47(3), e281–e283. https://doi.org/10.1097/RLU.0000000000003980
Abstract
A 67-year-old man with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma was initially treated with whole-brain radiotherapy for intracranial metastases, followed by chemotherapy and pembrolizumab. After completing 2 years of systemic therapy, the primary right lung lesion was biopsy-proven to have residual adenocarcinoma, which was then treated with radiation (6000 cGy in 15 fractions). Follow-up serial FDG PET/CT showed radiation fibrosis. Eighteen months after radiotherapy, the patient received 2 doses of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. FDG PET/CT performed 4 days following his second vaccine dose showed FDG-avid multistation lymphadenopathy and radiation recall pneumonitis, likely vaccination-induced and mimicking recurrent disease. This resolved spontaneously without therapy.
Key Words: COVID-19, pneumonitis, radiation, recall, vaccination