Seminars in nuclear medicine
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Although thyroid cancer is a comparatively rare malignancy, it represents the vast majority of endocrine cancers and its incidence is increasing. Most differentiated thyroid cancers have an excellent prognosis if diagnosed early and treated appropriately. Aggressive histologic subtypes and variants carry a worse prognosis. ⋯ However, FDOPA has emerged as an alternate and more promising radiotracer in this setting. In aggressive cancers that are less amenable to treatment with (131)iodine, FDG-PET/CT may help in radiotherapy planning, and in assessing the response to radiotherapy, embolization, or experimental systemic treatments. (124)Iodine PET/CT may serve a role in obtaining lesional dosimetry for better and more rationale planning of treatment with (131)iodine. Thyroid cancer is not a monolithic disease, and different stages and histologic entities require different approaches in imaging and individualized therapy.