Compare Fdg-Pet and Tc-99m Tetrofosmin Spect to Detect Metastatic Thyroid Carcinoma
Resource
ACADEMIC RADIOLOGY v.10 n.8 pp.835-839
Journal
ACADEMIC RADIOLOGY
Journal Volume
v.10
Journal Issue
n.8
Pages
835-839
Date Issued
2003
Date
2003
Author(s)
LIU, FENG-YUAN
YEN, RUOH-FANG
KAO, CHIA-HUNG
Abstract
Rationale and Objectives. The effectiveness of 18-fluoro-2- deoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) and technetium-99m tetrofosmin ( Tc-99m TF) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) of neck and chest was evaluated to detect metastatic lesions in well- differentiated thyroid carcinoma after nearly total thyroidectomy and radioiodine (I-131) treatment who present with elevated serum human thyroglobulin levels but negative I-131 whole body scan. Materials and Methods. Twenty-three patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma who underwent nearly total thyroidectomy and I-131 treatments were included in this study. Results. All of the 23 patients had negative I-131 whole body scan and elevated human thyroglobulin levels under thyroid-stimulating hormone stimulation. Metastatic lesions were detected by FDG-PET in 20 patients, while Tc-99m TF SPECT revealed metastatic lesions in only 11 of the 20 patients. Both FDG-PET and Tc- 99m TF SPECT failed to demonstrate miliary pulmonary metastases in two of the remaining three patients. The other patient did not show any lesion on FDG-PET, Tc-99m TF SPECT , chest computed tomography, or other imaging techniques. Conclusion. This study demonstrated that FDG-PET is more sensitive than Tc-99m TF SPECT to detect metastatic lesions in differentiated thyroid carcinoma with elevated human thyroglobulin but negative I-131 whole body scan. However, miliary pulmonary metastases could be missed by the both techniques.
Subjects
18-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG)
technetium-99m tetrofosmin single photon emission computed
radioiodine (I-131) whole body scan