AUTHOR=Czepczyński Rafał , Szczurek Jolanta , Mackiewicz Jacek , Ruchała Marek 

TITLE=Interference of COVID-19 Vaccination With PET/CT Leads to Unnecessary Additional Imaging in a Patient With Metastatic Cutaneous Melanoma—Case Report

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2021.690443

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2021.690443

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has widely influenced oncological imaging mainly by presenting unexpected pulmonary and mediastinal lesions. The ongoing global program of vaccination has led to incidental diagnosis of axillary lymphadenopathy. We present a case of increased accumulation of <sup>18</sup>F-FDG in an axillary lymph node in a PET/CT scan performed in a 43-year-old female patient with metastatic melanoma. The scan was performed 4 days after the AZD1222 vaccination. The occurrence of lymphadenopathy was verified with another PET/CT scan scheduled one month later. This case report presents a possible misinterpretation of PET/CT images caused by the recent COVID-19 vaccination. To avoid distress of the patient and unnecessary oncological diagnostics to verify the findings, we recommend avoiding scheduling PET/CT shortly after vaccination.</p>