Increased Pituitary Fluorine-18-Fluorodeoxyglucose Uptake in Patients with Differentiated Thyroid Cancer in Hypothyroidism versus under Recombinant Human Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone Stimulation.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: 18F-FDG PET/CT is performed for the assessment of radioactive iodine non-avid disease in patients with DTC. In patients prepared by THW, increased pituitary uptake of 18F-FDG in the absence of pituitary disease may reflect the physiological activation of pituitary thyrotroph cells by hypothyroidism. This study aimed to compare pituitary 18F-FDG uptake in patients with DTC under THW vs. rhTSH stimulation. METHODS: A total of 57 patients with DTC undergoing 18F-FDG PET/CT (40 under THW and 17 under rhTSH stimulation) were retrospectively analyzed. Pituitary metabolism was expressed as maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) and as SUVratio using the right cerebellum as reference. RESULTS: Pituitary hypermetabolism (SUVmax ≥ 4.1) was present in more patients in the THW group compared to the rhTSH group (62.5% vs. 23.5%; p = 0.01). Pituitary metabolism was significantly higher in the THW group compared to the rhTSH group, as assessed by either SUVmax (mean ± SD 4.61 ± 1.22, 95%CI 4.22-5.00 vs. 3.34 ± 0.86, 95%CI 2.9-3.8; p < 0.001) or SUVratio (0.52 ± 0.11, 95%CI 0.49-0.56 vs. 0.42 ± 0.07, 95%CI 0.38-0.46; p < 0.001). Serum TSH levels correlated positively with SUVmax (r = 0.41, p < 0.01) and SUVratio (r = 0.44, p < 0.01) in the THW group only. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings support the hypothesis that pituitary hypermetabolism on 18F-FDG PET/CT in patients with DTC undergoing THW is a common physiological response to hypothyroidism. Awareness of this physiological hypermetabolism is important to avoid potential pitfalls in image interpretation.