HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hammami, M. M. Articles by Bakheet, S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hammami, M. M. Articles by Bakheet, S.

Radioiodine Breast Uptake in Nonbreastfeeding Women: Clinical and Scintigraphic Characteristics

Departments of Medicine and Radiology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Correspondence: For correspondence or reprints contact: Muhammad M. Hammami, MD, Department of Medicine (MBC 46), King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, P.O. Box 3354, Riyadh 11211, Saudi Arabia.

ABSTRACT

We studied the scintigraphic and associated clinical characteristics of radioiodine breast uptake in nonbreastfeeding thyroid cancer patients undergoing routine whole-body radioiodine scanning. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of the radioiodine scans and medical records of 30 prospectively collected cases. Results: Twenty-three nonpregnant patients had discontinued breastfeeding for a mean of 11.4 mo. Three postmenopausal and four single nulliparous patients had radioiodine breast uptake on one or more occasions. This represented about 6% of all female patients who had radioiodine scans over a 3-yr period. Four patterns of uptake, full, focal, crescentic and irregular, were observed. Breast uptake mimicked lung metastasis in nine patients. Expressible galactorrhea and moderately elevated prolactin levels were present in 48% and 24%, respectively, of patients examined. In 14 patients followed for an average of 11.4 mo, there were no consistent changes in the pattern or intensity of breast uptake. In 18 patients who had both ¹²³I diagnostic and ¹³¹I postablation scans within a few days, breast uptake was present on both scans in 75%. In four patients, breast uptake was present, despite the 4%–9% radioiodine uptake by the thyroid; in one patient, iodinated contrast material blocked the uptake of the thyroid gland but not of the breast. Conclusion: Although the mechanisms of radioiodine breast uptake remain unclear, breast uptake should be suspected in all female patients with radioiodine uptake in the chest area, even in the absence of a history of breastfeeding.

Key Words: radioiodine scan • breast uptake • breastfeeding • prolactin

This article has been cited by other articles:

				I. L. Wapnir, M. van de Rijn, K. Nowels, P. S. Amenta, K. Walton, K. Montgomery, R. S. Greco, O. Dohan, and N. Carrasco Immunohistochemical Profile of the Sodium/Iodide Symporter in Thyroid, Breast, and Other Carcinomas Using High Density Tissue Microarrays and Conventional Sections J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., April 1, 2003; 88(4): 1880 - 1888. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P-F Kao, H-Y Chang, M-F Tsai, K-J Lin, K-Y Tzen, and C-N Chang Breast uptake of iodine-131 mimicking lung metastases in a thyroid cancer patient with a pituitary tumour Br. J. Radiol., April 1, 2001; 74(880): 378 - 381. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Spitzweg, W. Joba, W. Eisenmenger, and A. E. Heufelder Analysis of Human Sodium Iodide Symporter Gene Expression in Extrathyroidal Tissues and Cloning of Its Complementary Deoxyribonucleic Acids from Salivary Gland, Mammary Gland, and Gastric Mucosa J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., May 1, 1998; 83(5): 1746 - 1751. [Abstract] [Full Text]