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¹⁸F-Dihydroxyphenylalanine PET in Patients with Biochemical Evidence of Medullary Thyroid Cancer: Relation to Tumor Differentiation

¹ Departments of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; ² Department of Endocrinology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; ³ Department of Surgical Oncology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; ⁴ Department of Medical Oncology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; and ⁵ Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

Correspondence: For correspondence contact: Thera P. Links, MD, PhD, Department of Endocrinology, University Medical Centre Groningen, P. O. Box 30.001, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands E-mail: t.p.links{at}int.umcg.nl.

Curative treatment for recurrent medullary thyroid cancer (MTC), diagnosed by rising serum calcitonin, is surgery, but tumor localization is difficult. Therefore, the value of ¹⁸F-dihydroxyphenylanaline PET (¹⁸F-DOPA PET), ¹⁸F-FDG PET, ^99mTc-V-di-mercaptosulfuricacid (DMSA-V) scintigraphy, and MRI or CT was studied. Methods: Twenty-one patients with biochemical recurrent or residual MTC underwent ¹⁸F-DOPA PET, ¹⁸F-FDG PET, DMSA-V scintigraphy, and MRI or CT. Patient- and lesion-based sensitivities were calculated using a composite reference consisting of all imaging modalities. Results: In 76% of all patients with MTC, one or more imaging modalities was positive for MTC lesions. In 6 of 8 patients with a calcitonin level of <500 ng/L, imaging results were negative. In 15 patients with positive imaging results, ¹⁸F-DOPA PET detected 13 (sensitivity, 62%; with 4.6 lesions per patient [lpp]). Morphologic imaging (n = 19) was positive in 7 (sensitivity, 37%; 4.7 lpp), DMSA-V (n = 18) in 5 (sensitivity, 28%; 1.1 lpp), and ¹⁸F-FDG PET (n = 17) in 4 (sensitivity, 24%; 1.6 lpp). In a lesion-based analysis, ¹⁸F-DOPA PET detected 95 of 134 lesions (sensitivity, 71%), morphologic imaging detected 80 of 126 (sensitivity, 64%), DMSA-V detected 20 of 108 (sensitivity, 19%), and ¹⁸F-FDG PET detected 48 of 102 (sensitivity, 30%). In 2 of 3 patients with a calcitonin/carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) doubling time of 12 mo, ¹⁸F-FDG PET performed better than ¹⁸FDOPA PET; in the third patient, ¹⁸F-FDG PET was not performed. Conclusion: MTC lesions are best detectable when serum calcitonin was >500 ng/L. ¹⁸F-DOPA PET is superior to ¹⁸F-FDG PET, DMSA-V, and morphologic imaging. With short calcitonin doubling times (12 mo), ¹⁸F-FDG PET may be superior.

Key Words: medullary thyroid cancer • PET • ¹⁸F-DOPA • ¹⁸F-FDG • tumor markers • tumor differentiation • calcitonin

COPYRIGHT © 2008 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine, Inc.

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