New Imaging Technique Improves Detection and Treatment of Thyroid Cancer
Thyroid cancer is considered one of the most curable forms of cancers according to the American Cancer Society. Thanks to a new imaging approach from German researchers, the treatment and detection of this type of cancer is getting even better.
When doctors treat thyroid cancer, in addition to surgical removal of the thyroid and traditional radiation therapy, doctors inject small amounts of radioactive iodine into the patient. Iodine specifically hones in on thyroid cells in the body, and the radioactive iodine kills any remaining thyroid tumor cells in the neck or those that may have spread to nearby lymph nodes or other parts of the body.
Researchers at the University of Eriangen-Nurnberg in Germany have now employed radioactive iodine in combination with a high tech imaging tool called SPECT-CT as a way to see where the cancer has spread while simultaneously providing anti-cancer treatment.
SPECT imaging uses small amounts of radioactive tracers to identify abnormally active cells, such as tumor cells, in the body. CT imaging provides very detailed, X-ray like images. Using a combination of the two camera systems shows malignant cell activity mapped and overlaid onto a precise anatomical location.
