Adrenal and renal metastases from follicular thyroid cancer

Patients with differentiated thyroid cancer may have asymptomatic involvement of renal and/or adrenal gland, particularly if they are elderly and have associated metastases to other organs, which may remain undetected if these patients are not subjected to radioiodine treatment. Our experience also emphasises the role of routine post-radioiodine therapy whole body scan with high degree of clinical suspicion, which may reveal lesions otherwise not discernable in low dose whole body scan. All suspicious lesions should be subjected to structural imaging like ultrasound, CT or MRI for confirmation. In this setting, the role of radioiodine therapy is primarily aimed at palliation that might prolong their survival, probably reduce further spread and thus overall improve the quality of life.