Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39370986›Full record

ArticleThe Laryngoscope2025

Brown Adipose Tissue Mimicking Head and Neck Cancer on PET Scan in a Patient on GLP-1 Drug.

Daron B Harrison, Alisa L Phillips, James B Tansey, Travis J Clarke, C B Wood, Lucien Nedzi, David L Schwartz, Liza Makowski, D N Hayes, Grace Newman and 1 more

Abstract readCase Reports
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The Laryngoscope, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Daron B HarrisonDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.A.ORCID 0009-0007-9077-2141
Alisa L PhillipsDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Tennessee, U.S.A.
James B TanseyDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.A.ORCID 0000-0001-8433-6721
Travis J ClarkeDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.A.
C B WoodDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.A.
Lucien NedziDepartment of Radiation Oncology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.A.
David L SchwartzDepartment of Radiation Oncology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.A.
Liza MakowskiDepartment of Hematology Oncology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.A.
D N HayesDepartment of Hematology Oncology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.A.
Grace NewmanDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, Memphis Radiological PC, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.A.
John P GleysteenDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.A.ORCID 0000-0002-0325-5637

Funding

Determining the contribution of microbial-derived metabolites to protective immunity in obesity-driven cancer risk.U01CA272541 · UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE HEALTH SCI CTR · 2025 to 2025
$1.0M
UNITS: The UNC / UT National Clinical Trials Network Group Integrated Translational Science Production and Consultation CenterUG1CA233333 · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2025 to 2025
$601k
Role of microbially-derived metabolites in anti-tumor immunity in breast cancerR01CA253329 · UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE HEALTH SCI CTR · 2025 to 2025
$488k
NCI NIH HHS R01 CA253329NCI NIH HHS U01 CA272541NCI NIH HHS UG1 CA233333
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

To report a case of a patient undergoing GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy in which increased FDG uptake in brown adipose tissue (BAT) mimicked metastatic head and neck cancer on PET/CT imaging. A 61-year-old female with Class III obesity presented with a right-sided neck mass after significant weight loss following the use of the GLP-1 receptor agonist, Semaglutide. PET/CT revealed FDG uptake in the right level II lymph node and extensive BAT uptake throughout the neck and mediastinum, complicating the diagnosis. Increased FDG uptake in the cervical and supraclavicular BAT regions led to diagnostic confusion, mimicking diffuse regional metastasis. Careful interpretation of PET/CT imaging, with fusion of anatomical and functional data, was essential to differentiate hypermetabolic BAT from malignant disease. Increased BAT FDG uptake, particularly in patients using GLP-1 receptor agonists, can complicate the evaluation of head and neck cancer. Awareness of this interaction is critical to avoid misdiagnosis and overtreatment. Laryngoscope, 135:741-743, 2025.

Indexed as

Adipose Tissue, BrownGlucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor AgonistsGlucagon-Like PeptidesHead and Neck NeoplasmsPositron Emission Tomography Computed TomographyDiagnosis, DifferentialFemaleFluorodeoxyglucose F18Glucagon-Like Peptide 1HumansMiddle AgedRadiopharmaceuticalsSemaglutideFluorodeoxyglucose F18Glucagon-Like Peptide 1Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor AgonistsGlucagon-Like PeptidesRadiopharmaceuticalsSemaglutidebrown adipose tissueGLP‐1 drughead and neck cancerPET scan

Identifiers

PMID39370986
PMCPMC11729570

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.