Unusual Metastatic Sites and Radioiodine Uptake in Patients of Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma with Atypical Clinical Presentations: Utilization of 131 I-Whole-Body Scintigraphy with Regional SPECT/CT

• Published in: World journal of nuclear medicine Vol. 23; no. 2; pp. 130 - 134
• Main Authors: Edamadaka, Yeshwanth, Parghane, Rahul V, Basu, Sandip
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd 01.06.2024
• Subjects: Case Report; differentiated thyroid carcinoma; metacarpal metastasis; SPECT/CT; urinary bladder metastasis; 131 I whole-body scintigraphy
• ISSN: 1450-1147; 1607-3312
• DOI: 10.1055/s-0044-1779750

Differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) usually is slow growing and carries a good prognosis. It most commonly tends to spread locally to regional lymph nodes in 20 to 60% of patients. The presence of distant metastasis impacts overall survival and prognosis. The lungs, bones, and the brain are typically involved in distant sites with less common metastatic sites that include the liver, kidney, skeletal muscle, adrenal glands, bladder, and skin. These unusual sites are rare and pose a diagnostic challenge and impact clinical decision-making to a great extent. The radioiodine I whole-body scintigraphy with single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography can provide a thorough investigation of unusual sites of uptake leading to diagnosis of these metastases. We present a case series of DTC showing unusual sites of metastasis and/or radioiodine uptake in urinary bladder, in the third metacarpal bone of left hand and lastly in the forearm at postoperative hypertrophic scar area.