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18F-choline PET/CT incidental thyroid uptake in patients studied for prostate cancer

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Abstract

Purpose

Thyroid incidental uptake is defined as a thyroid uptake incidentally detected by imaging examinations performed for non-thyroid disease. The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence and the pathological nature of focal thyroid incidental uptake (FTIU) among patients studied with 18F-choline-PET/CT.

Materials and methods

We retrospectively evaluated 368 patients who performed 18F-choline-PET/CT between June 2016 and August 2018. The PET images were analyzed visually and semi-quantitatively by measuring the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) and the mean SUV (SUVmean) of the thyroid gland and of the FTIU; every focal thyroid uptake deviating from physiological distribution and background was considered FTIU. Final diagnosis of FTIU was obtained by cytological or histological examination after surgery.

Results

The average SUVmax and SUVmean of thyroid gland in population were 3 and 1.8. Among 368 patients, FTIU was identified in nine cases (2.4%) and eight underwent further investigations to determine the nature. Two FTIU were classified as malignant (thyroid carcinoma), whereas five were benign (three nodular hyperplasia, one follicular adenoma, one Hurtle cell adenoma) and one indeterminate at cytological examination. In malignant lesions, average SUVmax was 9.6 and 4.5, respectively, while average SUVmean was 5.3 and 2.9, respectively. Average SUVmax and SUVmean of benign lesions were 4.9 and 3.2 and of the indeterminate lesion 5 and 3, respectively.

Conclusions

18F-choline-PET/CT FTIU may be a relevant diagnostic reality, which requires further investigations and affects management, especially considering that, despite being mainly benign, also malignancy is possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nuclear Medicine, Spedali Civili Brescia, Brescia, Italy

    Domenico Albano & Rexhep Durmo

  2. Nuclear Medicine, University of Brescia and Spedali Civili Brescia, Brescia, Italy

    Francesco Bertagna & Raffaele Giubbini

Authors
  1. Domenico Albano
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  2. Rexhep Durmo
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  3. Francesco Bertagna
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  4. Raffaele Giubbini
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Correspondence to Domenico Albano.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. For this type of study formal consent is not required.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participant included in the study.

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Albano, D., Durmo, R., Bertagna, F. et al. 18F-choline PET/CT incidental thyroid uptake in patients studied for prostate cancer. Endocrine 63, 531–536 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-018-01832-6

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