{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,31]],"date-time":"2026-03-31T16:51:00Z","timestamp":1774975860888,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":16,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"21","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,22]],"date-time":"2025-10-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1761091200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Warthin\u2019s tumor is a benign salivary gland neoplasm that can exhibit intense FDG uptake, potentially mimicking malignant lesions on oncologic imaging. We report a case of a 78-year-old man undergoing staging for suspected lung cancer, in whom a hypermetabolic lesion was incidentally detected in the left parotid gland on [18F]FDG PET\/CT. Correlation with prior salivary scintigraphy, MRI, and CT supported the likelihood of Warthin\u2019s tumor, which was subsequently confirmed by fine-needle aspiration cytology. This case illustrates how multimodality imaging can provide complementary diagnostic information that helps characterize the parotid lesion, but not replace cytologic confirmation. Recognition of characteristic imaging features, an understanding of each modality\u2019s diagnostic strengths and limitations, and cytologic confirmation when indicated are essential to avoid misinterpretation and optimize patient management.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics15212666","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,23]],"date-time":"2025-10-23T02:03:48Z","timestamp":1761185028000},"page":"2666","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Multimodality Imaging of Warthin\u2019s Tumor: PET\/CT, Scintigraphy, MRI, and CT"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7469-7769","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Miju","family":"Cheon","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nuclear Medicine, Veterans Health Service Medical Center, Seoul 05368, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hyunkyung","family":"Yi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nuclear Medicine, Veterans Health Service Medical Center, Seoul 05368, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Injoong","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiology, Veterans Health Service Medical Center, Seoul 05368, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"363","DOI":"10.1097\/01.rlu.0000259323.04488.18","article-title":"Role of salivary gland scintigraphy with Tc-99m pertechnetate in determining treatment of solitary parotid gland tumors: A retrospective study","volume":"32","author":"Nakahara","year":"2007","journal-title":"Clin. Nucl. Med."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Aoki, R., and Tanaka, T. (2024). Pathogenesis of Warthin\u2032s Tumor: Neoplastic or Non-Neoplastic?. Cancers, 16.","DOI":"10.3390\/cancers16050912"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"116","DOI":"10.1002\/dc.25255","article-title":"Fine needle aspiration as a diagnostic modality for Warthin tumors identified as fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography\/computed tomography-positive","volume":"52","author":"Kowalewski","year":"2024","journal-title":"Diagn. Cytopathol."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"518","DOI":"10.1097\/RCT.0b013e31828aede8","article-title":"Two-phase computed tomography study of warthin tumor of parotid gland: Differentiation from other parotid gland tumors and its pathologic explanation","volume":"37","author":"Woo","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Comput. Assist. Tomogr."},{"key":"ref_5","first-page":"1256","article-title":"Warthin tumor of the parotid gland: Diagnostic value of MR imaging with histopathologic correlation","volume":"25","author":"Ikeda","year":"2004","journal-title":"AJNR Am. J. Neuroradiol."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"588","DOI":"10.21037\/qims.2018.07.07","article-title":"Diagnostic value of single-source dual-energy spectral computed tomography in differentiating parotid gland tumors: Initial results","volume":"8","author":"Li","year":"2018","journal-title":"Quant. Imaging Med. Surg."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"64","DOI":"10.1186\/s13005-024-00467-5","article-title":"MRI and CT imaging characteristics in parotid tumors with false-negative fine-needle aspirations","volume":"20","author":"Lee","year":"2024","journal-title":"Head Face Med."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2780","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-021-82455-2","article-title":"Differentiating malignant from benign salivary gland lesions: A multiparametric non-contrast MR imaging approach","volume":"11","author":"Takumi","year":"2021","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Stoia, S., Ciurea, A., B\u0103ciu\u021b, M., Bran, S., Armencea, G., Bo\u021ban, E., Lenghel, M., Tama\u0219, T., Mocan, R., and Leucu\u021ba, D. (2025). Comparative Diagnostic Accuracy of Ultrasound, MRI, and Fine-Needle Aspiration Biopsy in the Preoperative Evaluation of Parotid Gland Tumors. J. Clin. Med., 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm14041342"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gaudino, C., Cassoni, A., Pisciotti, M.L., Pucci, R., Veneroso, C., Di Gioia, C.R.T., De Felice, F., Pantano, P., and Valentini, V. (2024). High Field MRI in Parotid Gland Tumors: A Diagnostic Algorithm. Cancers, 17.","DOI":"10.3390\/cancers17010071"},{"key":"ref_11","first-page":"43","article-title":"Diagnostic accuracy of technetium-99m-pertechnetate scintigraphy with lemon juice stimulation to evaluate Warthin\u2032s tumor","volume":"39","author":"Murata","year":"1998","journal-title":"J. Nucl. Med."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3046","DOI":"10.1007\/s12070-024-04592-0","article-title":"Warthin\u2032s Tumour as a Parotid Gland Incidentaloma Identified by PET-CT Scan in a Large Series of Cases","volume":"76","author":"Holgado","year":"2024","journal-title":"Indian J. Otolaryngol. Head Neck Surg."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"147","DOI":"10.1080\/00016489.2024.2328720","article-title":"Incidental [18F]FDG-avid focuses in parotid glands on PET\/CT","volume":"144","author":"Klug","year":"2024","journal-title":"Acta Otolaryngol."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"765","DOI":"10.1017\/S0022215121002036","article-title":"Parotid incidentalomas: A systematic review","volume":"135","author":"Thompson","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Laryngol. Otol."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"170","DOI":"10.1097\/00003072-200503000-00005","article-title":"Diagnostic value of FDG PET and salivary gland scintigraphy for parotid tumors","volume":"30","author":"Uchida","year":"2005","journal-title":"Clin. Nucl. 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