Utility of ¹¹¹indium-pentetreotide scintigraphy in patients with neuroendocrine tumors.

BACKGROUND: Neuroendocrine (NE) tumors pose a diagnostic challenge with the need to utilize a combination of biochemical analysis, standard cross-sectional imaging, and more recently, nuclear medicine scans such as (111)indium-pentetreotide scintigraphy (somatostatin receptor scintigraphy, SRS; OctreoScan, Covidien Imaging Solutions, Hazelwood, MO). In this study we sought to evaluate the clinical utility of scintigraphy in the diagnosis and management of patients with NE tumors at a major university hospital. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed on all patients who underwent both (111)indium-pentetreotide scintigraphy and computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (CT/MRI) at a single institution between February 2001 and July 2008. Charts were reviewed for patient demographics, symptoms of NE disease, and results of biochemical testing, imaging studies, histopathologic diagnosis, and medical and/or surgical management. RESULTS: One hundred forty-five patients received (111)indium-pentetreotide scintigraphy (SRS) and concurrent cross-sectional imaging (CT/MRI) over the 7-year period studied. In the evaluation of primary disease, 60 % of tumors were localized by anatomic imaging, significantly greater than the 15 % detection rate achieved by SRS. In the evaluation of recurrent disease, 61 % of NE tumors were localized by cross-sectional imaging, significantly greater than the 31 % detection rate of SRS. Scintigraphy identified disease foci not seen on CT/MRI in just 8 of 74 of the cohort with evidence of disease and only altered the surgical management in 3 of 74 cases. CONCLUSIONS: Cross-sectional CT/MRI imaging is sufficient for the localization of NE tumors. (111)Indium-pentetreotide scintigraphy does not significantly alter the surgical management of patients with NE tumors, and we suggest that it be selectively reserved for patients with disease that is occult to cross-sectional imaging.

Clinical efficacy of fine-needle aspiration biopsy of thyroid nodules in males.

BACKGROUND: It has recently been suggested that the use of fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy of thyroid nodules in male patients is associated with an unacceptably high false-negative rate in the detection of thyroid malignancy. We hypothesize that FNA biopsy is an accurate preoperative tool for detecting thyroid cancer in men, and that false negative rates are significantly lower than recently reported. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective database analysis was performed on all male patients who underwent thyroid surgery from May 1994 through January 2007 at a single institution. The results of preoperative FNA biopsies were compared with final surgical pathologic results. FNA biopsy results were reported as benign, malignant, inconclusive (i.e., follicular neoplasm), or nondiagnostic; final surgical pathology was reported as benign or malignant. RESULTS: Of 1205 patients who underwent thyroidectomy, 273 (23%) were male. Preoperative FNA biopsy results were obtained in 60% of these male patients and were read as benign in 45/165 (27%) patients, malignant in 47/165 (28%) patients, inconclusive in 66/165 (40%) patients, and nondiagnostic in 7/165 (4%) patients. In male patients with cytology reported as benign, 3/45 (6.7%) FNAs were determined to be malignant on final pathology. CONCLUSIONS: Our study determined that FNA biopsy of thyroid nodules in male patients has an acceptably low false-negative rate of 6.7% and is, therefore, an accurate and useful diagnostic tool. We recommend preoperative FNA biopsy for all male patients presenting with thyroid nodules as a standard of practice.