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
Review
. 2020 Oct;27(5):335-344.
doi: 10.1097/MED.0000000000000574.

Multimodal imaging of thyroid cancer

Katrin Brauckhoff  1   2 , Martin Biermann  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Multimodal imaging of thyroid cancer

Katrin Brauckhoff et al. Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2020 Oct.

Abstract

Purpose of review: Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine cancer in adults with rising incidence. Challenges in imaging thyroid cancer are twofold: distinguishing thyroid cancer from benign thyroid nodules, which occur in 50% of the population over 50 years; and correct staging of thyroid cancer to facilitate appropriate radical surgery in a single session. The clinical management of thyroid cancer patients has been covered in detail by the 2015 guidelines of the American Thyroid Association (ATA). The purpose of this review is to state the principles underlying optimal multimodal imaging of thyroid cancer and aid clinicians in avoiding important pitfalls.

Recent findings: Recent additions to the literature include assessment of ultrasound-based scoring systems to improve selection of nodules for fine needle biopsy (FNB) and the evaluation of new radioactive tracers for imaging thyroid cancer.

Summary: The mainstay of diagnosing thyroid cancer is thyroid ultrasound with ultrasound-guided FNB. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography and PET with [F]-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and MRI are reserved for advanced and/or recurrent cases of differentiated thyroid cancer and anaplastic thyroid cancer, while [F]FDOPA and [Ga]DOTATOC are the preferred tracers for medullary thyroid cancer.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Olson E, Wintheiser G, Wolfe KM, et al. Epidemiology of thyroid cancer: a review of the National Cancer Database. Cureus 2019; 11:e4127.
    1. Moon JH, Hyun MK, Lee JY, et al. Prevalence of thyroid nodules and their associated clinical parameters: a large-scale, multicenter-based health checkup study. Korean J Intern Med 2018; 33:753762.
    1. Ha SM, Baek JH, Choi YJ, et al. Malignancy risk of initially benign thyroid nodules: validation with various Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System guidelines. Eur Radiol 2019; 29:133140.
    1. Haugen BR, Alexander EK, Bible KC, et al. 2015 American Thyroid Association Management guidelines for adult patients with thyroid nodules and differentiated thyroid cancer: the American Thyroid Association Guidelines Task Force on Thyroid Nodules and Differentiated Thyroid Cancer. Thyroid 2016; 26:1133.
    1. Howlader N, Noone AM, Krapcho M, et al. SEER Cancer Statistics Review 1975-2017. Bethesda/MD: National Cancer Institute. https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2017 (accessed May 17, 2020).

MeSH terms

Substances

Supplementary concepts