New Imaging Technique Improves Detection and Treatment of Thyroid Cancer
“Normal thyroid tissue as well as residual cancer cells concentrate iodine. Performed after ingestion of radioiodine, SPECT-CT (imaging) provides three-dimensional images of the distribution of the radionuclide in the human body and is therefore used for staging this type of cancer,” according to Torsten Kuvwert, MD, co-author of the article.
Using the imaging information early on to find out if and how much the cancer has spread lets doctors know how much follow up radiation therapy is needed for a patient. “Incorporated at first treatment, SPECT-CT allows us to better stratify patients into treatment groups,” said Kuvwert.
The SPECT-CT approach led to treatment adjustments in 35% of the patients evaluated in the study. “With SPECT-CT imaging, we were able to determine tumor spread much earlier than before,” said Daniela Schmidt, MD, another co-author of the article. “Earlier detection will lead to earlier individualized treatment of this potentially deadly cancer.”
Thyroid cancer is highly treatable if diagnosed early, but the prognosis becomes poorer if the tumor is large and the cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body.
