Incidental discovery of pulmonary metastases during I-131 scintigraphy after total thyroidectomy.
We report the case of a 40-year-old man with radiographically silent pulmonary metastases of papillary thyroid cancer discovered during I-131 scintigraphy following total thyroidectomy performed 10 years after unilateral lobectomy. The residual lobe was histologically normal. After a dose of 11.1 GBq (300 mCi), there was no I-131 uptake in the thyroid bed and lung metastases, and serum thyroglobulin became undetectable. Conservative therapy could be associated with a delay in the possibility of diagnosing and treating extrathyroidal metastases.
D000328:Adult; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000556:secondary*; D006801:Humans; D033162:Incidental Findings; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000556:secondary*; D008297:Male; D011182:Postoperative Care; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D016606:Thyroid Nodule / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery*; D013965:Thyroidectomy; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed / Q000379:methods
D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals