The Added Benefit of a Dedicated Neck F-18 FDG PET-CT Imaging Protocol in Patients With Suspected Recurrent Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma

Carcinoma Contrast Media Cell Differentiation DNA 3. Good health 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 Recurrence Positron-Emission Tomography Humans Whole Body Imaging Thyroid Neoplasms Neoplasm Recurrence, Local Radiopharmaceuticals Tomography, X-Ray Computed Neck Retrospective Studies
DOI: 10.1097/rlu.0b013e31817792c9 Publication Date: 2009-03-05T18:39:50Z
ABSTRACT
To retrospectively analyze whether adding a delayed high-resolution dedicated neck F-18 FDG positron emission tomography-computerized tomographic (PET-CT) imaging protocol in patients with recurrent differentiated thyroid cancer increases the number of abnormal foci within the neck.Seventeen PET-CT studies from a total of 10 patients with suspected recurrent differentiated thyroid cancer between March 2003 and June 2004 were retrospectively reviewed. Each study included a whole body acquisition (WBA), followed by higher resolution dedicated neck acquisition (DNA). Two board-certified nuclear medicine physicians reviewed either the DNA or WBA for each study and recorded the number of abnormal foci, along with presence or absence of a soft tissue abnormality, and maximum standardized uptake value for each foci. Consensus review was used for all discrepancies. Statistical analysis was performed to determine whether there was a statistically significant increase in the number of studies demonstrating new abnormal foci with the addition of a DNA.Five of 17 studies demonstrated an increase in the number of abnormal foci with the addition of the DNA (P < 0.04). A total of 8 abnormal foci were noted on the WBA, 4 of which were within the neck. Eleven additional abnormal foci were seen on the DNA. All abnormal foci within the neck had corresponding soft tissue abnormalities except for one.Adding a higher resolution delayed DNA to the WBA for patients undergoing PET-CT imaging to detect recurrent thyroid cancer increases the number of abnormal sites of FDG accumulation.
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