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| EMGARGOED FOR RELEASE Oct. 14, 2006, 2:15 p.m. PDT |
For more information, please contact the ATA at thyroid@thyroid.org. |
Ultrasound Is Best Diagnostic Test to Detect Recurrent Thyroid Cancer
(PHOENIX)—Ultrasound performed in a doctor’s office may be more sensitive in detecting persistent or recurrent differentiated thyroid cancer than whole body radioiodine scans and serum thyroglobulin tests, according to a new study being presented on Saturday, Oct. 14, at the 77th Annual Meeting of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) in Phoenix.
“Most thyroid cancer recurs in the lymph nodes in the neck and ultrasound has been shown to be the best imaging available for this area,” said David L. Steward, MD, an ATA member and director of Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in Cincinnati. “This study found lymph node location but not size, and specific ultrasound features of lymph nodes could be used to help discriminate benign lymph nodes from ones with thyroid cancer.”
Radioiodine imaging and serum thyroglobulin testing are the two most commonly used diagnostic procedures to detect thyroid cancer recurrence. A whole body radioiodine scan is done by administering a small dose of radioactive iodine to determine if there are remaining thyroid cells that need to be destroyed. A serum thyroglobulin test is a blood test used to measure the levels of thyroglobulin, a thyroid cell protein that serves as a thyroid cancer marker. “Ultrasound is also a cheaper, non-invasive, and more convenient test for patients and doesn’t require a special diet or preparation when compared to radioiodine scans,” added Dr. Steward.
Papillary and follicular carcinomas are considered differentiated carcinomas, and patients with these tumors are often treated similarly. Papillary is the most common type of thyroid cancer (70% to 80% of thyroid cancers) and can occur at any age. Follicular thyroid cancer (10% to 15% of cancers) tends to occur in somewhat older patients than papillary cancer.
The retrospective study consisted of 96 patients who had office-based ultrasounds of the neck during an eighteen-month period in a multidisciplinary thyroid cancer clinic. Twenty-two patients (22%) had recurrent differentiated thyroid cancer detected at a mean of seven years after initial treatment. The ultrasound correctly identified disease in 91 percent of patients whose cancer recurred, serum thyroglobulin testing detected cancer in 68 percent of these patients, while radioiodine imaging only correctly identified that disease had returned in 20 percent of these patients. The primary limitation of thyroglobulin testing is that it may not be sensitive in many patients with thyroid cancer.
For more information on thyroid cancer, visit the ATA web site at www.thyroid.org.
The newest research in mechanisms, diagnosis, and clinical management of thyroid disease will be the focus of the ATA Annual Meeting, Oct. 11–15, 2006, at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa in Phoenix. The meeting will bring together thyroid experts from the United States and around the world.
The ATA is the North American professional society for physicians and
researchers specializing in diseases of the thyroid gland. The ATA promotes
excellence and innovation in clinical care, research, education, and public
advocacy.
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