The value of 18 F-FDG PET/CT in the systemic evaluation of patients with Rosai–Dorfman disease: a retrospective study and literature review

Background Rosai–Dorfman disease (RDD) is a rare form of non-Langerhans cell histiocytic disease. The aim of this study was to review the characteristics of RDD using 18 F-FDG PET/CT and determine its efficacy in the disease management. Results A total of 28 RDD patients underwent 33 18 F-FDG PET/CT scans for systematic assessment and follow-up. The common involved sites included the lymph nodes (17, 60.7%), upper respiratory tract (11, 39.3%), and skin (9, 32.1%). Five patients had more lesions detected in PET/CT images than in CT and/or MRI, including inapparent nodules (n = 5) and bone destruction (n = 3). After thorough treatment evaluation using PET/CT, the treatment strategies of 14 patients (14/16, 87.5%) were changed. Five patients underwent PET/CT twice during follow-up and the SUVs were significantly decreased (15.3 ± 3.4 vs. 4.4 ± 1.0, p = 0.02), which demonstrated disease improvement. Conclusions 18 F-FDG PET/CT contributed to displaying the holistic characteristics of RDD, in particular during initial assessment, treatment strategy adjustment, or efficacy evaluation, and could compensate for some disadvantages of CT and MRI images.