Variations in radioiodine ablation: decision-making after total thyroidectomy.

BACKGROUND: The role of radioiodine treatment following total thyroidectomy for differentiated thyroid cancer is changing. The last major revision of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) Management Guidelines for Patients with Thyroid Nodules and Differentiated Thyroid Cancer in 2015 changed treatment recommendations dramatically in comparison with the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) 2008 guidelines. We hypothesised that there is marked variability between the different treatment regimens used today. METHODS: We analysed decision-making in all Swiss hospitals offering radioiodine treatment to map current practice within the community and identify consensus and discrepancies. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: We demonstrated that for low-risk DTC patients after thyroidectomy, some institutions offered only follow-up, while RIT with significant activities is recommended in others. For intermediate- and high-risk patients, radioiodine treatment is generally recommended. Dosing and treatment preparation (recombinant human thyroid stimulation hormone (rhTSH) vs. thyroid hormone withdrawal (THW)) vary significantly among centres.

Pyroclastic activity at Home Plate in Gusev Crater, Mars.

Home Plate is a layered plateau in Gusev crater on Mars. It is composed of clastic rocks of moderately altered alkali basalt composition, enriched in some highly volatile elements. A coarsegrained lower unit lies under a finer-grained upper unit. Textural observations indicate that the lower strata were emplaced in an explosive event, and geochemical considerations favor an explosive volcanic origin over an impact origin. The lower unit likely represents accumulation of pyroclastic materials, whereas the upper unit may represent eolian reworking of the same pyroclastic materials.

Assessment of Mars Exploration Rover landing site predictions.

Comprehensive analyses of remote sensing data during the three-year effort to select the Mars Exploration Rover landing sites at Gusev crater and at Meridiani Planum correctly predicted the atmospheric density profile during entry and descent and the safe and trafficable surfaces explored by the two rovers. The Gusev crater site was correctly predicted to be a low-relief surface that was less rocky than the Viking landing sites but comparably dusty. A dark, low-albedo, flat plain composed of basaltic sand and haematite with very few rocks was expected and found at Meridiani Planum. These results argue that future efforts to select safe landing sites based on existing and acquired remote sensing data will be successful. In contrast, geological interpretations of the sites based on remote sensing data were less certain and less successful, which emphasizes the inherent ambiguities in understanding surface geology from remotely sensed data and the uncertainty in predicting exactly what materials will be available for study at a landing site.

Localization and physical property experiments conducted by Opportunity at Meridiani Planum.

The location of the Opportunity landing site was determined to better than 10-m absolute accuracy from analyses of radio tracking data. We determined Rover locations during traverses with an error as small as several centimeters using engineering telemetry and overlapping images. Topographic profiles generated from rover data show that the plains are very smooth from meter- to centimeter-length scales, consistent with analyses of orbital observations. Solar cell output decreased because of the deposition of airborne dust on the panels. The lack of dust-covered surfaces on Meridiani Planum indicates that high velocity winds must remove this material on a continuing basis. The low mechanical strength of the evaporitic rocks as determined from grinding experiments, and the abundance of coarse-grained surface particles argue for differential erosion of Meridiani Planum.

Wind-related processes detected by the Spirit Rover at Gusev Crater, Mars.

Wind-abraded rocks, ripples, drifts, and other deposits of windblown sediments are seen at the Columbia Memorial Station where the Spirit rover landed. Orientations of these features suggest formative winds from the north-northwest, consistent with predictions from atmospheric models of afternoon winds in Gusev Crater. Cuttings from the rover Rock Abrasion Tool are asymmetrically distributed toward the south-southeast, suggesting active winds from the north-northwest at the time (midday) of the abrasion operations. Characteristics of some rocks, such as a two-toned appearance, suggest that they were possibly buried and exhumed on the order of 5 to 60 centimeters by wind deflation, depending on location.

Localization and physical properties experiments conducted by Spirit at Gusev Crater.

The precise location and relative elevation of Spirit during its traverses from the Columbia Memorial station to Bonneville crater were determined with bundle-adjusted retrievals from rover wheel turns, suspension and tilt angles, and overlapping images. Physical properties experiments show a decrease of 0.2% per Mars solar day in solar cell output resulting from deposition of airborne dust, cohesive soil-like deposits in plains and hollows, bright and dark rock coatings, and relatively weak volcanic rocks of basaltic composition. Volcanic, impact, aeolian, and water-related processes produced the encountered landforms and materials.

The clinical value of [90Y-DOTA]-D-Phe1-Tyr3-octreotide (90Y-DOTATOC) in the treatment of neuroendocrine tumours: a clinical phase II study.

PURPOSE: The aim of this phase II study was to evaluate the tumour response of neuroendocrine tumours to targeted irradiation with the radiolabelled somatostatin analogue 90Y-DOTATOC. In addition, the palliative effect of 90Y-DOTATOC treatment on the malignant carcinoid syndrome and tumour-associated pain was investigated. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty-one patients (mean age 53 years) with neuroendocrine gastroenteropancreatic and bronchial tumours were included. Eighty-two percent of the patients had therapy resistant and progressive disease. The treatment consisted of four intravenous injections of a total of 6000 MBq/m2 90Y-DOTATOC, administered at intervals of six weeks. RESULTS: The overall response rate was 24%. For endocrine pancreatic tumours it was 36%. Complete remissions (CR) were found in 2% (1 of 41), partial remissions (PR) in 22% (9 of 41), minor response in 12% (5 of 41), stable disease (SD) in 49% (20 of 41) and progressive disease (PD) in 15% (6 of 41). The median follow up was 15 months (range 1 month to 36 months). The median duration of response has not been reached at 26 months. The two-year survival time was 76 +/- 16%. Eighty-three percent of the patients suffering from the malignant carcinoid syndrome achieved a significant reduction of symptoms. The treatment was well tolerated. A reduction of pain score was observed in all patients (5 of 41) with morphine dependent tumour-associated pain. Side effects included grade III (NCIGC) pancytopenia in 5%, and vomiting shortly after injection in 23%. No grade III-IV renal toxicity was observed. CONCLUSION: Targeted radiotherapy with 90Y-DOTATOC is a novel, well-tolerated treatment for neuroendocrine tumours with a remarkable objective response rate, survival time, and symptomatic response.

Radiopeptide transmitted internal irradiation of non-iodophil thyroid cancer and conventionally untreatable medullary thyroid cancer using.

AIM: Differentiated thyroid carcinomas (DTC) and medullary thyroid carcinomas (MTC) overexpress somatostatin receptor subtypes (sstr). The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the tumour response of thyroid carcinomas to targeted irradiation with the radiolabelled somatostatin analogue [90Y]-1,4,7,10-tetra-azacyclododecan-4,7,10-tricarboxy-methyl-1-yl-acetyl-D-Phe1-Tyr3-octreotide ([90Y]-DOTA-D-Phe1-Tyr3-octreotide, or 90Y-DOTATOC) which has a high affinity to subtype 2 and a low affinity to subtype 5. It shows no affinity to sstr1, sstr3 and sstr4. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty patients (mean age 58 years; 50% female, 50% male) with thyroid cancer were included (medullary thyroid cancer (MTC), 12 patients; differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), seven patients; papillar carcinoma (PC), four patients; follicular carcinoma (FC), three patients; anaplastic carcinoma (AC), one patient). All patients had been therapy resistant and had progressive disease before 90Y-DOTATOC therapy. The dose applied was between totals of 1700 MBq x m(-2) to 7400 MBq x m(-2) 90Y-DOTATOC, administered in one to four injections at intervals of 6 weeks. In the case of tumour progression under therapy, treatment was terminated. RESULTS: The overall antitumour effect (objective response and stable disease) was 35%; in MTC 42%, in DTC 29%, and in AC 0%. The objective overall response rate was 0%. A stable disease was achieved in 35% (7/20), and progressive disease was found in 65% (13/20). The median time to progression was 8 months, with a median follow-up of 15 months. The treatment was very well tolerated. There were no grade III/IV haematological or renal toxicities. CONCLUSION: Targeted radiotherapy using 90Y-DOTATOC is able to stop tumour progression in a small number of patients and therefore may be an alternative treatment option for resistant disease. More significant tumour responses in thyroid and medullary thyroid cancer may be obtained by using radiopeptides with pan-somatostatin characteristics.

Intratumoral arteriovenous shunting in malignant gliomas.

OBJECTIVE: Intratumoral arteriovenous shunting in glioblastomas has been suspected but neither proven nor quantified. METHODS: Using a previously described technique of selective intra-arterial intratumoral injection of 99mTc-labeled microparticles (macroaggregated albumin), we measured the amount of radioactivity, by cerebral and pulmonary scintigraphy, in seven patients with malignant gliomas (six with glioblastomas and one with an anaplastic oligodendroglioma). The pulmonary shunt index was calculated as a percentage from the pulmonary/pulmonary plus cerebral radioactivity ratio. RESULTS: The results revealed a mean pulmonary shunt index of 67% (range, 47-89%), indicating that most of the microparticles injected into the tumor via the arterial route bypassed the tumor and reached the lungs. The measured arteriovenous shunting was greater when the injection was performed in an artery exclusively perfusing the tumor. CONCLUSION: Important intratumoral arteriovenous shunting exists in glioblastomas. The potential consequences of this finding for intra-arterial treatment strategies are discussed.

[Diagnosis of cerebrospinal fluid leakage at the base of the skull]. / Diagnostik der Liquorrhoe bei Schädelbasisläsionen.

There are still several problems surrounding the diagnosis of cerebrospinal fluid leak. Currently the method of choice for cerebrospinal fluid detection is qualitative determination of beta-2-transferrin. Faster and more efficient methods (beta-trace) are under clinical investigation. The major problem is localisation of the site of leakage. Combination of several radiological methods increases the rate of correct diagnosis. In surgery the use of intrathecal sodium-fluorescein improves visualisation of the site of leakage and thus increases the chances of secure and stable closure of the cerebrospinal fluid fistula.

Exceptional results in neuroendocrine-metastases-caused paraplegia treated with [90Y-DOTA]-D-Phe1-Tyr3-octreotide (90Y-DOTATOC), a radiolabelled somatostatin analogue.

The case history is presented of a patient with paraplegia caused by progressive spinal cord compression due to bone metastases of a neuroendocrine pulmonary tumour. After failed external radiotherapy, the patient received targeted internal radiotherapy administered as a fractionated treatment with intravenous injections of a total of 7400 MBq/m2 of [90YDOTA]-D-Phe1-Tyr3-octreotide (90Y-DOTATOC), a radiolabelled somatostatin analogue. This case history highlights the value of 90Y-DOTATOC in the treatment of neuroendocrine tumours and the importance and possibility of good palliation of neuroendocrine bone metastases.

[The basis for radioiodine therapy in differentiated thyroid cancer]. / Grundlagen der Radiojodbehandlung von differenzierten Schilddrüsenkarzinomen.

Radioiodine therapy of differentiated thyroid cancer is based on the ability of these tumors to accumulate iodine, making them accessible to a metabolic treatment with I-131, a beta-emitting radioisotope leading to in intensive, highly selective and tumoricidal irradiation of such cells. Radioiodine ablation of thyroid remnants is performed few weeks after radical thyroid surgery and significantly decreases the risk of recurrence of thyroid cancer and the risk of death due to thyroid cancer. Even in recurrent or metastatic thyroid cancer, radioiodine treatment will often be curative or at least result in long term improvement, making differentiated thyroid cancers among the most curable cancers at present. In Switzerland, radioiodine treatment of thyroid cancer must be done in specialized nuclear medicine wards. Secondary effects are mild and mostly related to the symptoms of hypothyroidism. Recurrent or metastatic thyroid cancer often necessitates an interdisciplinary approach, including surgery, radioiodine therapy and sometimes external radiation therapy. Follow-up should be done in specialized centers in collaboration with the patient's family doctor.

[Marine-Lenhart syndrome: a case observation upon 18 years]. / Das Marine-Lenhart-Syndrom: Eine Fallbeobachtung über 18 Jahre.

After a hyperthyroidism of Graves' disease with strongly positive antithyroid antibodies treated sufficiently by radioiodine therapy a 46-year old woman developed a consecutive bifocal autonomous nodule within 13 years. This phenomenon is known as Marine-Lenhart-syndrome. In this particular case it seems that autonomous nodules are a consequence of Graves' disease treatment with radioiodine. Our case report is a 18 year follow up. In contrast to most studies known today the simultaneous occurrence of active Graves' disease and active autonomous nodules could be demonstrated by means of serology and suppressive scintigraphy, respectively. In addition, this case shows the possible dependence of an acute beginning of Graves' disease and the occurrence of autonomous nodules.

Overview of the Mars Pathfinder mission and assessment of landing site predictions.

Chemical analyses returned by Mars Pathfinder indicate that some rocks may be high in silica, implying differentiated parent materials. Rounded pebbles and cobbles and a possible conglomerate suggest fluvial processes that imply liquid water in equilibrium with the atmosphere and thus a warmer and wetter past. The moment of inertia indicates a central metallic core of 1300 to 2000 kilometers in radius. Composite airborne dust particles appear magnetized by freeze-dried maghemite stain or cement that may have been leached from crustal materials by an active hydrologic cycle. Remote-sensing data at a scale of generally greater than approximately 1 kilometer and an Earth analog correctly predicted a rocky plain safe for landing and roving with a variety of rocks deposited by catastrophic floods that are relatively dust-free.

Arteriovenous shunt measurement during endovascular therapy for cerebrospinal lesions.

PURPOSE: To determine (a) whether superselective angioscintigraphy with technetium-99m macroaggregated albumin (99mTc-MAA) can be used for the evaluation of arteriovenous shunting in tumors and vascular malformations of the head and spine and (b) whether the amount of microparticles shunted is related to diagnosis, lesion size, or angiographic pattern. METHODS: Particles of 99mTc-MAA with a calibrated diameter of 25 to 50 microm were delivered intraarterially in feeders of head and spine tumors and vascular malformations in 38 patients. The first estimation of the proportion of particles reaching the lungs was made on-line in the angiography suite using a hand-held lead-shielded detector. Evaluation of the intralesional shunt (pulmonary shunt index, or PSI) was derived from quantitative gamma camera recordings of tumoral and pulmonary activity after the embolization procedure was complete. RESULTS: The PSI value ranged from 48% to 100% for vascular malformations and vascular tumors (n = 11), 82% to 95% for juvenile angiofibromas (n = 4), 63% to 70% for high-grade gliomas (n = 2), 0% to 50% for renal cell carcinoma metastases (n = 4), 0% to 86% for meningiomas (n = 11), and 0% to 36% for paragangliomas (n = 6). Angiographically, the presence of visible arteriovenous channels was predictive of a high PSI. In contrast, the presence of early venous drainage was associated with a wide PSI range. CONCLUSION: Superselective 99mTc-MAA angioscintigraphy of tumors and vascular malformations of the head and spine is a valuable method for quantifying an intralesional arteriovenous shunt before embolization.

Preoperative embolization of paragangliomas and angiofibromas. Measurement of intratumoral arteriovenous shunts.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if technetium Tc 99m-labeled macroaggregated albumin selective angioscintigraphy enables estimation of microparticle-arteriovenous shunt in branchial paragangliomas and nasopharyngeal angiofibromas. DESIGN: Technetium Tc 99m-labeled macroaggregated albumin particles with calibrated diameters between 25 and 50 microns were administered during selective catheterization of the feeding arteries in 4 branchial paragangliomas (glomus tumors) and 4 nasopharyngeal angiofibromas. Preliminary measures of the activity of the tumor region and of the lungs were obtained in the angiography suite using a hand-held detector. Without changing the position of the microcatheter, definitive embolization was performed. After endovascular treatment, scintigraphy was performed and the pulmonary shunt index was calculated with the use of a gamma camera and a dedicated computer program. RESULTS: The pulmonary shunt index varied between 0% and 36% for branchial paragangliomas (glomus tumors) and between 82% and 95% for angiofibromas. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide new evidence that the incidence of microparticle-arteriovenous shunt in nasopharyngeal angiofibromas is much higher than in paragangliomas.

Diagnostic angioscintigraphic evaluation of malignant hepatic tumors before catheter embolization: determination of shunt, flow distribution, and reflux.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate quantitatively arteriovenous shunts in malignant liver tumors by injection of 99mTc macroaggregates of albumin (MAA) into the tumor-feeding artery after selective catheterization. METHODS: In 40 patients with malignant liver tumors (33 hepatocellular carcinomas and 7 metastases of colorectal cancer), a mean dose of 200 MBq 99mTC MAA was injected arterially during angiography. The embolized area and the lungs were then visualized using a gamma camera. A dedicated computer program calculated pulmonary shunt rates. RESULTS: The majority of patients (n = 30) with hepatocellular carcinoma showed small shunts varying from 0 to 15%; only 3 of these patients had shunts ranging from 18% to 37%. In patients with colorectal carcinoma metastases (n = 7) the shunt varied from 0 to 3% (2 +/- 1%), probably due to a physiological shunt in normal liver tissue in the embolized area. Importantly, the degree of shunt found bore no correlation to the tumor volume or to the pattern of vascularity on angiography. CONCLUSION: Diagnostic angioscintigraphy is a useful tool for pretherapeutic evaluation of the capacity of an individual tumor to retain particles and to measure extratumoral shunting; these are essential for therapy planning, as they can help to increase the safety and effectiveness of embolization.

[Long-term course of medullary thyroid gland carcinoma]. / Langzeitverlauf des medullären Schilddrüsenkarzinomes.

UNLABELLED: To obtain information on the outcome of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) in the Berne area, a retrospective analysis of the 28 MTCs diagnosed by the Institute of Pathology of the University of Berne in the 25-year period between 1969 and 1994 was done. These 28 MTCs represented 2.4% of all thyroid malignancies diagnosed at the Bernese Institute of Pathology in the 25-year period mentioned above. 25 MTCs were sporadic and 3 associated with a multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) syndrome. Follow-up data were available from 27 of the 28 MTC patients. After a follow-up period of between 2 and 275 months 7 of these 27 patients had died form the MTC (among them all 4 patients with T4 tumors) and two were alive with tumor. 18 patients, including all 14 patients with T1 or T2 tumors without lymph node or distant metastases at the time of diagnosis, were alive and without evidence of tumor at the end of the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: MTCs are rare malignant tumors and comprise only a small fraction of all thyroid carcinomas in the Berne area. Most MTCs were sporadic, only a small minority was associated with a MEN syndrome. The TNM stage was the most important prognostic factor for patient survival. These data are in accordance with the results of similar MTC surveys done in other areas.

Noninvasive differentiation of meningiomas from other brain tumours using combined 111Indium-octreotide/99mtechnetium-DTPA brain scintigraphy.

We have studied prospectively 47 patients with CNS tumours including 16 meningiomas and 33 other tumours using combined 111In-octreotide and 99mTc-DTPA brain scintigraphy. 111In-octreotide scintigraphy was used to image somatostatin receptors (SSR) and 99mTc-DTPA scintigraphy was used to assess the integrity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). A total of 32 tumours (65%) were detected. All SSR positive tumours also had positive 99mTc-DTPA scans and all SSR negative tumours were negative on 99mTc-DTPA scans. Among the tumours located outside the BBB, all meningiomas and two out of six schwannomas were positive on combined SSR/99mTc-DTPA scintigraphy. Among the tumours located inside the BBB, seven out of nine gliomas grade I-III were negative, whereas all glioblastomas were positive. Other positive tumours included one malignant non-Hodgkin lymphoma and two cerebral metastases. SSR scintigraphy alone was non-specific in the diagnosis of meningiomas, as 16 non-meningiomatous tumours also had positive SSR scans probably due to a breakdown of the BBB (excluding the malignant lymphoma). Measuring the tumour-to-background ratio on SSR scans improved specificity, but sensitivity was decreased below 70% because some meningiomas were only slightly positive. Only the ratio of SSR scintigraphy to conventional 99mTc-DTPA brain scintigraphy (SSR-to-BS index) allowed a reliable differentiation of meningiomas from other CNS tumours, most notable from schwannomas (sensitivity: 94%; specificity: 100%). Our results support the usefulness of combined SSR and conventional brain scintigraphy in the noninvasive pre-operative diagnosis of meningiomas.

Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy in central nervous system tumors: role of blood-brain barrier permeability.

UNLABELLED: Somatostatin receptors are expressed in meningiomas and low-grade gliomas, raising the hope that scintigraphy with 111In-DTPA-D-Phe1-octreotide might be helpful in the in vivo localization, differential diagnosis and postoperative/postradiotherapy brain tumor follow-up. METHODS: Indium-111-DTPA-D-Phe1-octreotide scintigraphy and brain scintigraphy using 99mTc-DTPA as a nonspecific tracer for blood-brain barrier integrity were simultaneously performed in 60 patients with CNS tumors using dual-isotope acquisition mode SPECT. For 23 patients, the scintigraphic findings were also compared with in vitro somatostatin receptor autoradiography of surgical biopsy specimens. RESULTS: In meningiomas (located outside the blood-brain barrier), the somatostatin receptor scan showed all tumors and scintigraphic signal intensity correlating with in vitro SSR density positive in all meningiomas. Less contrast was seen on 99mTc-DTPA scans. In all tumors inside the blood-brain barrier, the 111In-DTPA-D-Phe1-octreotide scan visualized the tumors with a disrupted blood-brain barrier, as seen by 99mTc-DTPA scintigraphy. Discrepancies, however, were observed between somatostatin receptor scintigraphy and in vitro receptor autoradiography. CONCLUSION: Combined somatostatin receptor and 99mTc-DTPA scintigraphy may be helpful for noninvasive differentiation between meningiomas and other CNS tumors. False-negative scans were observed as a result of shielding by the intact blood-brain barrier. Interpretation of negative and positive somatostatin receptor scans in CNS tumors must therefore be done with caution.