Value of Fluorodeoxyglucose PET/Computed Tomography Patient Management and Outcomes in Thyroid Cancer

Anthony Ciarallo; Charles Marcus; Mehdi Taghipour; Rathan M Subramaniam

doi:10.1016/j.cpet.2014.12.009

Value of Fluorodeoxyglucose PET/Computed Tomography Patient Management and Outcomes in Thyroid Cancer

PET Clin. 2015 Apr;10(2):265-78. doi: 10.1016/j.cpet.2014.12.009. Epub 2015 Jan 29.

Authors

Anthony Ciarallo¹, Charles Marcus², Mehdi Taghipour², Rathan M Subramaniam³

Affiliations

¹ Russell H Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 601 N Caroline Street, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA. Electronic address: aciaral1@jhmi.edu.
² Russell H Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 601 N Caroline Street, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
³ Russell H Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 601 N Caroline Street, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 601 North Caroline Street, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 624 North Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.

PMID: 25829091
DOI: 10.1016/j.cpet.2014.12.009

Abstract

"Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/computed tomography (CT) is used most frequently in the surveillance of iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer with increased thyroglobulin level after therapy. This article evaluates the impact of FDG-PET/CT on clinical management and the prognostic implications of a positive scan. In the studies reviewed, FDG-PET/CT changed the course of management in 14% to 78% of patients with suspected recurrence, and a positive scan was associated with poorer survival. Similar conclusions are supported in the literature for anaplastic and medullary thyroid cancers, although these are based on fewer studies on account of the lower prevalence of these subtypes."

Keywords: FDG; Outcome; PET/CT; Prognosis; Thyroid cancer.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
Carcinoma, Medullary / pathology
Female
Fluorodeoxyglucose F18*
Humans
Incidental Findings
Male
Middle Aged
Multimodal Imaging / methods
Neoplasm Metastasis
Positron-Emission Tomography / methods*
Prognosis
Radiopharmaceuticals*
Thyroid Carcinoma, Anaplastic / pathology
Thyroid Neoplasms / pathology*
Tomography, X-Ray Computed / methods*
Young Adult

Substances

Radiopharmaceuticals
Fluorodeoxyglucose F18