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68Ga-PSMA PET thyroid incidentalomas

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Abstract

Introduction

Thyroid incidentaloma is defined as a thyroid lesion incidentally and newly detected by imaging techniques performed for an unrelated purpose and especially for a non-thyroid disease. The aim of this review is to evaluate the prevalence and clinical significance of focal incidental radiolabelled prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) uptake in the thyroid gland [PSMA thyroid incidentaloma (PTI)] revealed by PET/CT or PET/MRI.

Methods

A comprehensive literature search of the PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Embase databases was conducted to find relevant published articles about the prevalence and clinical significance of PTIs detected by PET/CT or PET/MRI in patients studied for other oncologic purposes.

Results

Twelve articles were included in the systematic review. Among 23 PTIs, 6 were malignant (5 primary thyroid tumors and one metastasis from renal cell carcinoma), one was a follicular lesion of undetermined significance, and the rest were benign.

Conclusion

Despite being very rare, though probably underestimated, PTIs frequently signal the presence of unexpected lesions in the thyroid which differ from the indicated reason for which the patient was initially scanned and concerning which the risk of malignancy is not negligible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nuclear Medicine, University of Brescia and Spedali Civili di Brescia, Brescia, P.le Spedali Civili, 1, 25123, Brescia, Italy

    Francesco Bertagna, Domenico Albano, Mattia Bonacina, Rexhep Durmo & Raffaele Giubbini

  2. Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET/CT Center, Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland, Bellinzona, Switzerland

    Luca Giovanella & Giorgio Treglia

  3. Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Giorgio Treglia

  4. Health Technology Assessment Unit, General Directorate, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, Bellinzona, Switzerland

    Giorgio Treglia

Authors
  1. Francesco Bertagna
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  2. Domenico Albano
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  3. Luca Giovanella
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  4. Mattia Bonacina
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  5. Rexhep Durmo
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  6. Raffaele Giubbini
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  7. Giorgio Treglia
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Correspondence to Francesco Bertagna.

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Bertagna, F., Albano, D., Giovanella, L. et al. 68Ga-PSMA PET thyroid incidentalomas. Hormones 18, 145–149 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42000-019-00106-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42000-019-00106-8

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