Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Dec;22(6):1609-1620.
doi: 10.1007/s11307-020-01516-6.

[18F]-FDG-PET/CT and [18F]-FAZA-PET/CT Hypoxia Imaging of Metastatic Thyroid Cancer: Association with Short-Term Progression After Radioiodine Therapy

Masatoyo Nakajo  1   2 , Megumi Jinguji  3 , Atsushi Tani  3 , Yoriko Kajiya  4 , Tooru Nandate  4 , Ikumi Kitazano  5 , Takashi Yoshiura  3
Affiliations

[18F]-FDG-PET/CT and [18F]-FAZA-PET/CT Hypoxia Imaging of Metastatic Thyroid Cancer: Association with Short-Term Progression After Radioiodine Therapy

Masatoyo Nakajo et al. Mol Imaging Biol. 2020 Dec.

Erratum in

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the relationships between 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose ([18F]-FDG) and hypoxia tracer [18F]fluoro-azomycinarabinofuranoside ([18F]-FAZA) and between 131I and [18F]-FAZA uptake in patients with metastatic thyroid cancer and to evaluate imaging features associated with short-term progression after 131I therapy.

Procedures: The study population was 20 patients (17 women and 3 men; mean age, 67 years) with metastatic thyroid cancer who underwent both [18F]-FDG- and [18F]-FAZA-positron emission tomography (PET)/X-ray computed tomography (CT) examinations before 131I therapy. Short-term response to radioiodine was assessed (mean follow-up, 19 months ± 9). PET parameters including [18F]-FDG-SUVmax, [18F]-FAZA-SUVmax, and [18F]-FAZA-tumor-to-muscle [T/M] were obtained. Mann-Whitney U, Wilcoxon signed-rank, or χ2 tests were used to assess differences between two quantitative variables or compare categorical data. Predictive factors for short-term progression were investigated with logistic regression analysis.

Results: Eleven lymph node metastatic lesions were identified in 9 patients and 46 distant metastatic lesions (lung, 19; bone, 17; and liver, 10) in 14 patients. A total of 24 131I-positive and 33 131I-negative lesions were detected. SUVmax was significantly lower with [18F]-FAZA-PET/CT (1.3 ± 0.6) than with [18F]-FDG-PET/CT (6.4 ± 5.9, p < 0.001). No significant correlation was observed between [18F]-FAZA-PET/CT and 131I imaging concerning visibility (p = 0.36). After 131I therapy, 31 of 57 metastatic lesions displayed short-term progression. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that [18F]-FDG-SUVmax (p = 0.022) and [18F]-FAZA-T/M (p = 0.002) showed significant associations with short-term progression.

Conclusions: Although [18F]-FAZA uptake was low in metastatic thyroid cancers, not only glucose metabolism but also hypoxic conditions may be associated with progression after 131I therapy in patients with metastatic thyroid cancer.

Keywords: 131I; PET/CT; Thyroid cancer; [18F]-FAZA; [18F]-FDG.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Sherman SI (2003) Thyroid carcinoma. Lancet 361:501–511 - PubMed
    1. Tuttle RM, Tala H, Shah J, Leboeuf R, Ghossein R, Gonen M, Brokhin M, Omry G, Fagin JA, Shaha A (2010) Estimating risk of recurrence in differentiated thyroid cancer after total thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine remnant ablation: using response to therapy variables to modify the initial risk estimates predicted by the new American Thyroid Association staging system. Thyroid 20:1341–1349 - PubMed - PMC
    1. Schlumberger MJ (1998) Papillary and follicular thyroid carcinoma. N Engl J Med 338:297–306 - PubMed
    1. Durante C, Haddy N, Baudin E, Leboulleux S, Hartl D, Travagli JP, Caillou B, Ricard M, Lumbroso JD, de Vathaire F, Schlumberger M (2006) Long-term outcome of 444 patients with distant metastases from papillary and follicular thyroid carcinoma: benefits and limits of radioiodine therapy. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 91:2892–2829 - PubMed
    1. Hoie J, Stenwig AE, Kullmann G, Lindegaard M (1988) Distant metastases in papillary thyroid cancer. A review of 91 patients. Cancer 61:1–6 - PubMed