Beard Contamination With 131 I Diagnosed by SPECT/CT in a Patient With Differentiated Thyroid Cancer

Abnormal focal accumulation of 131 I is generally a reliable indicator of differentiated thyroid cancer metastases. However, many examples of false-positive 131 I uptake were reported, some of them of unusual nature. We report a case of 32-year-old man with differentiated thyroid cancer who underwent thyroid remnants ablation with radioiodine. An area of considerable 131 I uptake projecting onto lateral cervical areas was detected on posttherapy planar whole-body scan. Neck SPECT/CT scan was done to elucidate localization of the uptake, and activity was found in the patient's beard.