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False-Positive Iodine-131 Whole-Body Scans Due to Cholecystitis and Sebaceous Cyst

Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology Branch and Genetics Biochemistry Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Nuclear Medicine Department, Warren Grant Magnuson, NIH
Surgical Metabolic Section, Surgery Branch, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland

Correspondence: For correspondence contact: Françoise Brucker-Davis, MD, NIH, Bldg. 10. Rm. 8D14, 10 Central Dr., MSC 1758, Bethesda, MD 20892-1758.

Correspondence: For reprints contact: Monica Skarulis, MD, NIH, Bldg. 10, Rm. 8S235, 10 Central Dr., MSC 1770, Bethesda, MD 20892-1770.

ABSTRACT

False-positive whole-body ¹³¹I scans are not frequent but have serious consequences in the management of patients with thyroid cancer. They can be classified in four main groups: elimination of iodine in body fluids, infection or inflammation, cysts or transudates and nonthyroid tumors. We report on two patients with false-positive post-therapy ¹³¹I scans. The first patient had uptake projected in the right pelvic area which was later proven to be a large gluteal sebaceous cyst. The second patient had uptake in the gallbladder area that did not disappear after ¹³¹I treatment; she underwent exploratory laparotomy which revealed extensive chronic cholecystitis. These cases illustrate two new causes of false-positive ¹³¹I whole-body scans (sebaceous cyst and cholecystitis), which highlights two mechanisms (elimination in body fluid and inflammation).

Key Words: whole-body scan • iodine-131 • sebaceous cyst • cholecystitis • thyroid cancer

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