Abstract
PURPOSE: To compare the (18)F-NaF PET/CT studies ((18)F-NaF) with other imaging methods in the detection of skeletal metastases (SM) in patients with medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 31 patients with MTC who performed (18)F-NaF to assess SM. The results of the (18)F-NaF were compared with other imaging methods performed for metastasis detection: (99)Tc-MDP bone scan (BS), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), contrast-enhanced CT (CT), and (68)Ga-Dotatate and (18)F-FDG PET/CT studies. A qualitative analysis comparing the (18)F-NaF findings with the ones of the other methods was performed, and the results were classified as superior (>), equal (=), and inferior (<). RESULTS: Eleven patients had no bone metastases detected on any of the imaging methods used. Twenty patients presented SM depicted on (18)F-NaF. Of these 20 patients, 12 performed bone scan (in 9 (18)F-NaF > BS and in 3 (18)F-NaF = BS), 1 performed (18)F-FDG ((18)F-NaF > (18)F-FDG), 4 performed (68)Ga-Dotatate (in 2 (18)F-NaF > (68)Ga-Dotatate and in 2 (18)F-NaF = (68)Ga-Dotatate), 20 performed CT of at least one body segment (in 15 (18)F-NaF = CT and in 5 (18)F-NaF > CT), and 16 performed MRI of at least one body segment, and in all of them, the (18)F-NaF was equal to the MRI. Beside this, the (18)F-NaF detected SM in body segments not routinely scanned in MRI and CT. CONCLUSION: In patients with MTC, the (18)F-NaF seems to be equal or superior to other imaging modalities in the detection of SM and allows the analysis of the whole skeletal in a single study.