Clinical nuclear medicine
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There are approximately 32,000 new cases of thyroid carcinoma annually in the United States. F-18 FDG PET/CT has an established role in cancer management, including thyroid cancer, usually in patients who are thyroglobulin (Tg) positive/iodine negative. We reviewed our experience with F-18 FDG PET/CT in thyroid cancer, with an emphasis on correlation with Tg, and maximum standardized uptake values (SUV). We also analyzed the role of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) on PET/CT results. ⋯ F-18 FDG PET/CT had excellent sensitivity (88.6%) and specificity (89.3%) in this patient population. Metastatic lesions were reliably identified, but were less F-18 FDG avid than recurrence/residual disease in the thyroid bed. TSH levels at the time of PET/CT did not appear to impact the FDG uptake in the lesions or the ability to detect disease. In the setting of high or rising levels of Tg, our study confirms that it is indicated to include PET/CT in the management of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer.