PET - Follicular Thyroid Cancer
41-year-old female with follicular thyroid carcinoma. Primary diagnosis and nearly
total thyroidektomy 11/92, I-131 therapy 12/92. A local tumor relapse without
iodine uptake was resected 2/94.Elevated thyroglobulin levels were found again
on 3/96 (9µg/l). An I-131 whole-body scan showed no focal increase of iodine
accumulation. No pathological findings were reported from ultrasound of the neck.A
whole-body FDG PET scan showed a lesion with a high level of FDG uptake in the
left paralaryngeal region.The treatment plan based on conventional diagnostic
techniques would have been watchful waiting. The PET scan clearly showed local
tumor relapse and another resection was performed. Carcinoma was proven histologically.
Serum thyroglobulin measurements were negative after surgery.
Courtesy of Dr. M. Lübeck, Prof. Dr. M. Clausen · University Hospital
Eppendorf, Hamburg. And CTI, Inc. SIEMENS - CTI
