Comparison of different positron emission tomography tracers in patients with recurrent medullary thyroid carcinoma: Our experience and a review of the literature

Giorgio Treglia, Paola Castaldi, Maria Felicia Villani, Germano Perotti, Angelina Filice, Valentina Ambrosini, Nadia Cremonini, Annibale Versari, Stefano Fanti, Alessandro Giordano, Vittoria Rufini

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Several morphological and functional imaging techniques are usually used to detect residual/recurrent medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) with variable results; currently, there is growing interest in positron emission tomography (PET) methodology. Herein, we report our experience of and a literature review about the comparison of different positron emission tomography (PET) tracers in patients with residual/recurrent MTC. 18F-DOPA PET/CT seems to be the most useful imaging method to detect recurrent MTC lesions, performing better than 18F-FDG and 68Ga-somatostatin analogs PET/CT. 18F-FDG may complement 18F-DOPA in patients with aggressive tumors. 68Ga-somatostatin analogs PET/CT may be useful to select patients who could benefit from radioreceptor therapy. The information provided by the various PET tracers reflects different metabolic pathways, and may help to select the most appropriate treatment.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)385-393
Number of pages9
JournalRecent results in cancer research. Fortschritte der Krebsforschung. Progres dans les recherches sur le cancer
Volume194
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013

Keywords

  • Diagnosis
  • Medullary thyroid carcinoma
  • Neuroendocrine tumors
  • PET/CT
  • Positron emission tomography

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Research

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