Nucl Med Mol Imaging.  2015 Jun;49(2):127-134. 10.1007/s13139-015-0324-6.

Relations Between Pathological Markers and Radioiodine Scan and 18F-FDG PET/CT Findings in Papillary Thyroid Cancer Patients With Recurrent Cervical Nodal Metastases

• Lee JW
• Min HS
• Lee SM
• Kwon HW
• Chung JK

• KMID: 2313259
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1007/s13139-015-0324-6

Abstract

PURPOSE
The aim of this study was to investigate relationships between the immunohistochemical results and radioiodine scan and 18F-FDG PET findings in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) patients with recurrent cervical nodal metastases.
METHODS
A total of 46 PTC patients who had undergone a radioiodine scan and/or 18F-FDG PET/CT and a subsequent operation on recurrent cervical lymph nodes were enrolled. Twenty-seven patients underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT, 8 underwent radioiodine scans, and 11 underwent both scans. In all surgical specimens, the immunoexpressions of thyroglobulin (Tg), sodium-iodide symporter (NIS), glucose transporter 1 (Glut-1), and somatostatin receptor 1 and 2A (SSTR1 and SSTR2A) were assessed, and associations between these expressions and radioiodine scan and 18F-FDG PET findings were evaluated.
RESULTS
Of the 38 patients who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT, all patients with weak Tg expression had positive 18F-FDG uptake, while only 45 % of the patients with moderate or strong Tg expression showed positive uptake (p=0.01). The proportion of patients with positive 18F-FDG uptake increased as the degree of Glut-1 expression with luminal accentuation increased. Of the 19 patients who underwent a radioiodine scan, the proportion with positive radioiodine uptake was greater among patients with strong NIS and SSTR2A expression than among patients expressing these markers at weak levels (p=0.04 for all). All three patients with weak Tg expression were negative for radioiodine uptake.
CONCLUSION
The 18F-FDG uptakes of recurrent cervical nodes are related to strong Glut-1 expression with luminal accentuation and weak Tg expression, whereas radioiodine uptake is related to the strong expressions of NIS and SSTR2A.

Keyword

Thyroid cancer; 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose; Positron emission tomography; Radioiodine

MeSH Terms

Fluorodeoxyglucose F18*
Glucose Transport Proteins, Facilitative
Humans
Ion Transport
Lymph Nodes
Neoplasm Metastasis*
Phenobarbital
Positron-Emission Tomography
Positron-Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography*
Receptors, Somatostatin
Thyroglobulin
Thyroid Neoplasms*
Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
Glucose Transport Proteins, Facilitative
Phenobarbital
Receptors, Somatostatin
Thyroglobulin