Thallium-201 SPECT increases detectability of thyroid cancer metastases

Journal Article · Wed Jan 31 23:00:00 EST 1990 · Journal of Nuclear Medicine; (USA)

OSTI ID:6920869

Charkes, N D; Vitti, R A; Brooks, K ^[1]

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1. Temple Univ. Hospital, Philadelphia, PA (USA)

Thallium-201- ({sup 201}Tl) chloride is known to accumulate in metastatic foci of differentiated thyroid carcinoma, but small and deep-seated lesions are generally not detectable by planar imaging. We have evaluated the use of 201Tl-chloride single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in 41 post-thyroidectomy patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma and one with medullary carcinoma; planar imaging alone was done in eight additional patients (total 50). Of 20 patients with known metastatic disease, planar {sup 201}Tl images were positive in 12 (60%) but SPECT revealed an additional 5 (25%) who had metastases (total 85%). SPECT revealed foci as small as 1.0 cm in the neck and 1.5 cm in the lungs, and was particularly useful in detection of disseminated micronodular pulmonary metastases, especially in patients whose scans were negative with diagnostic doses of {sup 131}I. Some pitfalls in interpretation of the tomographic reconstructions were found. Thallium-201 SPECT is a marked improvement over planar imaging in the detection of metastases of differentiated thyroid cancer.

• OSTI ID: 6920869
• Journal Information: Journal of Nuclear Medicine; (USA), Journal Name: Journal of Nuclear Medicine; (USA) Vol. 31:2; ISSN 0161-5505; ISSN JNMEA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550601* -- Medicine-- Unsealed Radionuclides in Diagnostics
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BODY
BODY AREAS
CARCINOMAS
COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
DIAGNOSIS
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
DISEASES
ELECTRON CAPTURE RADIOISOTOPES
EMISSION COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY
ENDOCRINE GLANDS
GLANDS
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LUNGS
MEDICINE
METASTASES
NECK
NEOPLASMS
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ORGANS
RADIOISOTOPES
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
SECONDS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS
SINGLE PHOTON EMISSION COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY
SURGERY
THALLIUM 201
THALLIUM ISOTOPES
THYROID
THYROIDECTOMY
TOMOGRAPHY