Recurrent thyroid cancer diagnosis: ROC study of the effect of a high-resolution head and neck 18F-FDG PET/CT scan.

Rationale And Objectives: (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ((18)F-FDG PET/CT) has demonstrated significant value in the evaluation of patients with indication of recurrent thyroid cancer with negative conventional workup. The hypothesis of this study was that the addition of a dedicated, high-resolution head and neck scan (HNS) to the standard whole-body scan (WBS) improves the accuracy of the detection and diagnosis of recurrent thyroid cancer.

Materials And Methods: Forty-three consecutive patients suspected for recurrent thyroid cancer, as indicated by increased tumor markers, prospectively underwent a WBS and a HNS with (18)F-FDG PET/CT.