Undetectable serum thyroglobulin in a patient with metastatic follicular thyroid cancer.
The case of a 54-year-old woman with metastatic follicular thyroid cancer and undetectable serum thyroglobulin is presented. Many years after the patient had a subtotal thyroidectomy for a large goiter that had no clear evidence of malignancy, metastatic bone disease developed. When the bone metastases were detected and during the follow-up period, serum thyroglobulin values remained undetectable, but radioiodine uptake in the metastases was abundant. This case indicates that the combination of 1-131 scintigraphy and serum thyroglobulin values is superior to the measurement of serum thyroglobulin alone in detecting well-differentiated, metastatic thyroid cancer.
Mertens
I J
IJ
Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Utrecht, The Netherlands.
De Klerk
J M
JM
Zelissen
P M
PM
Thijssen
J H
JH
Sie-Go
D M
DM
Han
S H
SH
Van Rijk
P P
PP
D018263:Adenocarcinoma, Follicular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000556:secondary*; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000556:secondary*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D013954:Thyroglobulin / Q000097:blood*; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*
D013954:Thyroglobulin