What information does a PET scan provide?

In the setting of suspected recurrent thyroid cancer, PET scans may be used to perform functional imaging when radioactive iodine scans have proven to be unreliable or difficult to interpret.

Differentiated thyroid cancer cells may undergo a process of transformation whereby they lose some or all of the ability to take up and retain 131-Iodine. Such cells may still retain the ability to absorb a different radioactive tracer called 18-Fluorodeoxyglucose (abbreviated FDG). If a PET scan is performed after a patient receives a tracer dose of FDG, the images could reveal abnormal areas of increased uptake that may indicate the presence of thyroid cancer cells. Images from a survey of the body could reveal abnormal areas of uptake indicating the spread (or metastasis) of thyroid cancer to lymph nodes, lungs, bones, or central nervous system.

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