Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy in non-medullary thyroid cancer.

ABSTRACT

8 patients with papillary cancer (4 with metastases, 4 in remission), 7 follicular cancer patients (6 with metastases), 2 patients with anaplastic thyroid cancer and 4 other non-medullary thyroid cancer patients all received an intravenous bolus injection of 220 MBq [111In-DTPA-D-Phe1]octreotide. Planar anterior and posterior gamma camera images of head-neck, chest and abdomen were obtained 24 and 48 h after injection. All primary cancers showed [111In-DTPA-D-Phe1] octreotide uptake; none occurred in patients in remission. The results were compared with conventional radio-iodine scintigraphy in patients with metastasised, differentiated thyroid cancer.