[Importance of PET for surgery of recurrent thyroid cancer]

The early detection of recurrent thyroid cancer and focussed surgery are essential for patients' prognosis. Using I-131 whole body scintigraphy is often not sufficient to detect recurrent carcinoma making other imaging methods necessary to identify the tumor. Recent studies showed that positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) is able to identify recurrent carcinoma and metastasis at an early stage.

The aim of this study was an evaluation of the impact of PET/CT on diagnostic and operation strategies in recurrent thyroid cancer.

A review of the literature was carried out combined with a case report from the daily practice. Furthermore, flow charts were created to clarify the aftercare procedure.

In patients with recurrent thyroid cancer PET/CT significantly increased the identification of recurrent tumors and metastases. Depending on the subtype of cancer, different tracers are used. The use of a metabolically active tracer which shows the increase of tumor metabolism and the morphological correlation of the tumor using a CT scan enable preoperative planning for a focussed surgical approach.

The PET/CT procedure should be an integral part of the aftercare procedure in thyroid cancer for early identification of recurrent tumors and to enable focussed surgery.