131I SPECT/CT: A one-station imaging modality in the management of differentiated thyroid cancer

Abstract

In patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC), single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) applied to diagnostic or therapeutic radioiodine (131I) whole-body scintigraphy (WBS) may accurately localize and help to distinguish benign from malignant sites of 131I uptake, with the potential to alter the management plan. 131I SPECT/CT is increasingly being used to evaluate patients with DTC and shows promise for improving imaging specificity and reducing false-positive results. Pre-ablation scans with 131I SPECT/CT contribute to the staging of thyroid cancer and the identification of regional and distant metastases prior to radioiodine therapy. Post-therapy scans with 131I SPECT/CT improve detection and localization of 131I accumulation in lymph node metastases and distant metastases compared with planar WBS and reduce the number of equivocal diagnoses and the need for additional cross-sectional imaging. © 2013 Italian Association of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.