Skip to main content
Internal Medicine logoLink to Internal Medicine
. 2020 Feb 19;59(10):1335–1336. doi: 10.2169/internalmedicine.4107-19

Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma Showing “Finger-in-glove” Sign on PET-CT

Saki Shigemi 1, Keigo Uchimura 1, Fumihiro Tanaka 2, Kazuhiro Yatera 1
PMCID: PMC7303451  PMID: 32074577

A healthy 15-year-old girl with a left upper lobe mass with branched opacities like bronchial mucoid impaction (so-called “Finger-in-glove” sign) on chest computed tomography (CT) (Picture 1A, B) was referred to our hospital. Positron emission tomography-CT (PET-CT) revealed a maximum standardized uptake value was 5.0 (Picture 1C). Bronchoscopy revealed a polypoid mass occupying the left upper lobe bronchus (Picture 1D). Left upper lobectomy was performed, and she was diagnosed with primary pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma (Picture 2) based on the detection of MAML2 rearrangement by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in the tumor cells. This is the first report of primary pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma showing the “Finger-in-glove” sign on PET-CT (1). The “Finger-in-glove” sign is known to mainly indicate benign endobronchial lesions but is occasionally seen in malignancies (2). Additional PET-CT may therefore be helpful for making an accurate diagnosis when the “Finger-in-glove” sign is detected on CT.

Picture 1.

Picture 1.

>Picture 2.

>Picture 2.

The authors state that they have no Conflict of Interest (COI).

References

  • 1.Li X, Guo Z, Liu J, et al. Clinicopathological characteristics and molecular analysis of primary pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma: case report and literature review. Thorac Cancer 9: 316-323, 2018. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 2.Martinez S, Heyneman LE, McAdams HP, Rossi SE, Restrepo CS, Eraso A. Mucoid impactions: finger-in-glove sign and other CT and radiographic features. Radiographics 28: 1369-1382, 2008. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Internal Medicine are provided here courtesy of Japanese Society of Internal Medicine

RESOURCES