The added clinical value of 18F-FDG PET/CT in evaluating intratracheal recurrence of differentiated thyroid carcinoma: implications for planning surgery, assessing its completeness, and planning radioiodine therapy.

In selected patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma, (18)F-FDG PET/CT has been shown to have added value. We present 2 clinical examples in the settings of both iodine-concentrating and non-iodine-concentrating lesions with tracheal involvement with special reference to its importance in planning of surgery or radioiodine therapy and assessing completeness of surgery. We believe that the use of PET/CT should be considered on a case-by-case basis and specifically when SPECT/CT is unavailable or has inconclusive findings.