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Updated: Dec 1, 2025
Computer-Aided Three-Dimensional Visualization in the Treatment of Locally Advanced Thyroid Cancer
Published on: June 9, 2023
Treatment of Differentiated Thyroid Cancer and Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Function with 131 Iodine Based on Positron
Yipu Zhong1, Jian He2, Chunyin Zhang3
1Department of Nuclear Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China; Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, Sichuan, China; Department of Nuclear Medicine, The People's Hospital of Jianyang, Jianyang, Sichuan, China.
Background:
Based on the positron emission tomography (PET) computed tomography (CT) image segmentation algorithm, this article explores the application of PET/CT in the recurrence and metastasis of thyroid cancer after differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC).
Methods:
In this study, 132 patients with DTC combined with 131I treatment underwent PET/CT whole-body imaging and 131I whole-body scan (131I-WBS), and the serum thyroglobulin (Tg) level was measured at the same time.
Results:
Among 54 Tg-positive patients, 49 were positive for 131I-WBS and 32 were positive for PET/CT imaging. Of the 15 Tg-negative patients, 131I-WBS and PET/CT imaging were negative. Three patients with 131I-WBS suggesting residual thyroid tumors were all positive in PET/CT examinations; 7 patients with 131I-WBS suggesting lymph node metastasis were all positive in PET/CT examinations, and in 131I, PET/CT imaging in WBS-negative patients showed 6 lung metastases and 3 bone metastases.
Conclusions:
PET/CT and 131I scans are similar in the diagnosis of residual thyroid and lymph node metastasis, but PET/CT has more advantages than does the 131I scan in the diagnosis of bone metastasis and lung metastasis. PET/CT can still find other benign and malignant lesions, which is of great value in the restaging of DTC. The imaging effect of WBS lung lesions in older patients is not good. The presence of stripe, calcification, and patch shadows in the lungs is not conducive to the imaging of WBS lung metastases. Lung strips and calcification affect the WBS lung main factors for imaging of metastases.
