| Abstract | PURPOSE: Three cases are described, in which positron emission tomography (PET) led to the diagnosis of carcinoma in solitary thyroid nodules (STN), which were considered benign by clinical assessment, ultrasonography, and fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: These 3 cases were from a group of 51 patients with solitary thyroid nodules that were nonfunctioning or "cold" on pertechnetate scans that were later studied with FDG PET scanning. RESULTS: Of the entire group, 28 patients showed the nodule to be nonfunctioning on FDG scans. Of these, 3 showed one or more small foci of intense FDG uptake in the periphery. On histopathology, these sites were found to harbor carcinoma, papillary carcinoma in 2 patients and a follicular variant of papillary carcinoma in one. CONCLUSIONS: These cases demonstrate the usefulness of FDG PET in detection of cancer that may lurk in the wall of a cystic thyroid nodule, often misinterpreted as benign by conventional methods. |
| Authors | Narendra Nair, Archi Agrawal, U N Nayak
(Affiliation: Radiation Medicine Centre, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, India.)
|
| Journal | Clinical nuclear medicine
(Clin Nucl Med)
Vol. 30
Issue 10
Pg. 647-8
(Oct 2005)
ISSN: 0363-9762 United States |
| PMID | 16166834
(Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)
|
| Chemical References |
- Radiopharmaceuticals
- Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
|
| Topics |
- Adult
- Carcinoma
(diagnosis, radionuclide imaging)
- Cysts
(diagnosis, radionuclide imaging)
- Female
- Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
(diagnostic use)
- Humans
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Positron-Emission Tomography
(methods)
- Radiopharmaceuticals
(diagnostic use)
- Thyroid Gland
(radionuclide imaging)
- Thyroid Nodule
(diagnosis, radionuclide imaging)
|
