Faculty Bibliography

Background: Interpreting I-131 whole-body scans (WBSs) after thyroidectomy for thyroid cancer is not simple. There are scans in which interpretation is speculative because of cryptic findings (CF). Complexity is added in scans that are done a week after an ablative or therapeutic dose of I-131 because not only is I-131-labeled thyroxine (T4) distributed throughout the body, but inorganic I-131 that is derived from the de-iodination of T4 may be also detected. We present our observations regarding the analysis of CF on WBS using I-131 single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in fusion with noncontrast computed tomography (CT), referred to here and elsewhere as I-131 SPECT/CT. Methods: Forty of 184 WBSs in 38 thyroidectomized thyroid cancer patients were followed up with I-131 SPECT/CTs. The SPECT/CT images were acquired after a tracer dose of I-131 (n=82) or a week after an ablative or therapeutic dose of I-131 (n=102). Results: Among 184 WBSs, 40 (22%) had CF. In 35 patients the WBS was negative for metastatic disease except for the CF and 5 patients had evidence of thyroid cancer in addition to the CF. There were 49 CF in the planar scans that were localized by SPECT/CT. These were characterized as physiological uptake in gingiva, thymus, gall bladder, menstrual blood, uterine fibroid, recto-sigmoid, colon, and bladder. Also observed was uptake in sites that represented nonthyroidal pathology including dental abscess, hiatal hernia, renal cyst, and struma ovarii. SPECT/CT suggested that 10 of the CF were actually of thyroid origin. In 40 SPECT/CT scans, the images contributed to interpreting the scan. In 15 of 40 patients the SPECT/CT analysis of WBS was performed with tracer doses of I-131 and was important for determining whether to administer ablative I-131 treatment. In another 25 patients, in whom SPECT/CT was performed after ablative or therapeutic doses of 131-I, information regarding the characterization of CF by SPECT/CT was useful in determining if thyroid cancer metastases or thyroid remnants were present. Conclusions: I-131 SPECT/CT is a useful tool to characterize atypical or CF on WBS by differentiating thyroid remnant or cancer from physiologic activity or nonthyroid pathology. In the past, uptake on a WBS that was not explicable as physiologic activity was identified as putative or possible thyroid cancer and generally was treated with I-131. Now, by identifying activity in some possible cancer sites as not thyroid cancer, SPECT/CT can reduce inappropriate treatment with I-131. SPECT/CT of WBS performed after ablative doses of 131-I is useful in determining the nature of CF and therefore likely providing prognostic information

Background: Occasionally, blood samples may be required from thyroid cancer patients after they have been given the therapy dose of (131)I, as part of necessary medical management of comorbidities. Thus, in the days after (131)I administration, medical health professionals may be involved in the withdrawal, handling, and manipulation of radioactive blood samples. The purpose of this study was to quantify the amount of radioactivity in blood samples taken from thyroidectomized thyroid carcinoma patients after the administration of therapeutic activities of (131)I. Methods: For dosimetry purposes, serial blood sampling is performed on thyroidectomized thyroid carcinoma patients prior to therapy with (131)I. The quantities of radioactive material present in these blood samples were expressed as a percentage of the administered activity and then extrapolated to the high levels of (131)I used in therapy for 377 patients in this study. The corresponding radiation exposure rate from the blood samples was then calculated to determine what radiation protection methods were required for staff handling these samples. Results: The average amount of radioactivity in a 1 mL blood sample at 1 hour postadministration of 5.5 GBq (150 mCi) of (131)I was 0.2 +/- 0.15 MBq (5.4 +/- 4.0 muCi). This corresponds to an exposure rate of 1.23 muSv/h (0.123 mrem/h) at 10 cm from the sample. For samples obtained beyond 24 hours after a therapeutic administration of 5.55 GBq (150 mCi), the exposure levels are approximately equal to background radiation. Conclusion: The data in this study indicate that the radiation exposure from blood samples withdrawn from thyroidectomized thyroid cancer patients is low. However, to ensure that staff members are exposed to minimal levels of radiation, it is imperative that staff members who are involved in withdrawing, handling, or manipulating radioactive blood samples adhere to the recommended radiation safety practices

PURPOSE: To assess the accuracy of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) measurements obtained with low-contrast agent dose dynamic contrast material-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) renography in patients with liver cirrhosis who underwent routine liver MR imaging, with urinary clearance of technetium 99m ((99m)Tc) pentetic acid (DTPA) as the reference standard. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This HIPAA-compliant study was institutional review board approved. Written informed patient consent was obtained. Twenty patients with cirrhosis (14 men, six women; age range, 41-70 years; mean age, 54.6 years) who were scheduled for routine 1.5-T liver MR examinations to screen for hepatocellular carcinoma during a 6-month period were prospectively included. Five-minute MR renography with a 3-mL dose of gadoteridol was performed instead of a routine test-dose timing examination. The GFR was estimated at MR imaging with use of two kinetic models. In one model, only the signal intensities in the aorta and kidney parenchyma were considered, and in the other, renal cortical and medullary signal intensities were treated separately. The GFR was also calculated by using serum creatinine levels according to the Cockcroft-Gault and modification of diet in renal disease (MDRD) formulas. All patients underwent a (99m)Tc-DTPA urinary clearance examination on the same day to obtain a reference GFR measurement. The accuracies of all MR- and creatinine-based GFR estimations were compared by using Wilcoxon signed rank tests. RESULTS: The mean reference GFR, based on (99m)Tc-DTPA clearance, was 74.9 mL/min/1.73 m(2) +/- 27.7 (standard deviation) (range, 10.3-120.7 mL/min/1.73 m(2)). With both kinetic models, 95% of MR-based GFRs were within 30% of the reference values, whereas only 40% and 60% of Cockcroft-Gault- and MDRD-based GFRs, respectively, were within this range. MR-based GFR estimates were significantly more accurate than creatinine level-based estimates (P < .001). CONCLUSION: GFR assessment with MR imaging, which outperformed the Cockcroft-Gault and MDRD formulas, adds less than 10 minutes of table time to a clinically indicated liver MR examination without ionizing radiation. Supplemental material: http://radiology.rsna.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1148/radiol.11101338/-/DC1

Purpose. We quantify the additional radiation exposure in terms of effective dose incurred by patients in the CT portion of SPECT/CT examinations. Methods. The effective dose from a variety of common nuclear medicine procedures is calculated and summarized. The extra exposure from the CT portion of the examination is summarized by examination and body part. Two hundred forty-eight scans from 221 patients are included in this study. The effective dose from the CT examination is also compared to average background radiation. Results. We found that the extra effective dose is not sufficient to cause deterministic effects. However, the stochastic effects may be significant, especially in patients undergoing numerous follow-up studies. The cumulative effect might increase the radiation exposure compared to patient management with SPECT alone. Conclusions. While the relative increase in radiation exposure associated with SPECT/CT is generally considered acceptable when compared with the benefits to the patient, physicians should make every effort to minimize this effect by using proper technical procedures and educating patients about the exposure they will receive.

Details on the 28-year treatment history of a patient with an endocrine-responsive breast cancer are provided. She was originally diagnosed as having a T1N0M0 cancer after a modified radical mastectomy at age 41. Fifteen years later, in 1998, she presented with hemoptysis and pleuritic chest pain: a 10 cm right atrial tumor and estrogen receptor (ER) positive endobronchial and adjacent lung parenchyma adenocarcinoma were documented. Epithelial markers normalized as she manifested a partial response (PR) lasting 3 years with tamoxifen treatment. From 2001 to 2007 she benefitted from exemestane treatment. Upon progression in the previous lung area and left adrenal, exemestane withdrawal led to transient decrease in markers. Six months later (in July 2008), with growth in her adrenal tumor, laparoscopic adrenalectomy was performed: in addition to ER positivity, the tumor showed Her2 overexpression and amplification. She has subsequently had some control of disease with fulvestrant, letrozole + trastuzumab, and subsequently letrozole + lapatinib. In addition to the chronicity of disease, this history illustrates the expanding range of treatments available for endocrine-responsive breast cancer commensurate to our greater understanding of tumor biology

An 81-year-old woman with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) underwent F-18 FDG PET/CT for staging, which demonstrated intense uptake in a dilated azygos vein, in the inferior vena cava (IVC), and in the known large left RCC. Contrast-enhanced CT of the chest and abdomen obtained in the days following confirmed the presence of tumor thrombus in the dilated azygos system, IVC, and the contiguous left renal vein. This case serves as a reminder that special attention should always be paid to the renal vein, IVC, and adjoining venous drainage pathways for abnormal FDG activity while imaging RCC, as the diagnosis of venous tumor thrombus has important clinical ramifications.