Dual-phase (99m)Tc-MIBI scintigraphy with delayed neck and thorax SPECT/CT and bone scintigraphy in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism: correlation with clinical or pathological variables

Differential Diagnosis of Rare Diseases Involving Bilateral Lower Extremities with Similar 99mTc-MDP Bone Scan Patterns: Analysis of a Case Series

Here, we reported a panel of rare diseases involving bilateral lower extremities with similar imaging patterns on 99mTc-MDP bone scans. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G-6PD deficiency), Gaucher disease (GD), steroid-induced osteonecrosis, progressive diaphyseal dysplasia (PDD), Erdheim–Chester disease (ECD) and Langerhans cell sarcoma (LCS) were included and imaging characteristics were analyzed. The rare properties of these diseases and mimicking features on 99mTc-MDP bone scans rendered differential diagnosis difficult but necessary. We believe that the rarely known imaging features of the reported diseases will undoubtedly help nuclear medicine physicians make differential diagnoses in clinical practice.

A Prospective Comparative Study of Using Ultrasonography, 4D-CT and Parathyroid Dual-Phase Scintigraphy with SPECT in Patients with Primary Hyperparathyroidism

Thirty-one consecutive patients were included in this study who were planned for parathyroidectomy due to primary hyperparathyroidism. They were studied with US, 4D-CT and dual-phase scintigraphy including SPECT/CT, and possible adenomas were identified in each imaging modality. Imaging data were quantified with US, CT and SPECT. Parathyroidectomies were performed as minimally invasive according to preoperative imaging findings. A total of 16 adenomas were found in 15 patients, and the surgery was negative in four patients. The imaging results were compared with each other and correlated to histology findings and blood biochemistry (S-Ca and P-PTH). Quantitative SPECT found a strong correlation between the quantification methods—Conjugate Gradient with Attenuation and Scatter Correction with a zone map (CGZAS) and Conjugate Gradient with Attenuation and Scatter Correction (CGAS)—measured as SUVmax and kBq/mL. However, a statistically significant correlation between the quantitative parameters (CGZAS and CGAS) and serum biomarkers (S-PTH and S-Ca) was not observed. The sensitivities of the imaging methods were calculated using histopathology as a gold standard. SPECT/CT demonstrated 93% sensitivity, 4D-CT 93% sensitivity and ultrasonography 73% sensitivity. The imaging methods were compared with each other using parathyroid regions because findings and locations varied between the modalities. Our prospective study supports that quantitative SPECT/CT is useful for presurgical assessment of primary hyperparathyroidism.

Factors related to a non-localising technetium 99m sestamibi scan result during parathyroid adenoma imaging in primary hyperparathyroidism

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study is to investigate factors that are associated with having a non-localising ^99m Tc-sestamibi scan.

DESIGN

A retrospective study was performed on patients that underwent parathyroid surgery performed within a single institution between 2001 and 2018.

SETTING

Single tertiary centre for parathyroid surgery.

PARTICIPANTS

230 patients underwent surgery for primary hyperparathyroidism due to a solitary parathyroid adenoma and had preoperative ^99m Tc-sestamibi imaging.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Variables including age, gender, intra-operative location of parathyroid adenoma, adenoma weight and pre- and postoperative calcium and parathyroid hormone levels were investigated through univariate and multivariate analysis to identify any association with having a non-localising (negative) ^99m Tc-sestamibi scan result.

RESULTS

Multivariate analysis identified that right-sided adenomas (P = .038), superior adenomas (P = .042) and a lower preoperative PTH level (P = .034) were all individual factors associated with having a negative ^99m Tc-sestamibi scan result. Although the weight of the adenoma was significant on univariate analysis (P = .029), this was not demonstrated on multivariate analysis (P = .422).

CONCLUSION

Factors that were associated with having non-localising ^99m Tc-sestamibi scan were right-sided adenomas, superior adenomas and lower preoperative PTH level. Further large prospective multicentre studies are needed to further evaluate these initial findings.

Osteitis Fibrosa Cystica Caused by Hyperparathyroidism Shown on 18F-NaF PET/CT

F-NaF PET/CT in hyperparathyroidism and osteitis fibrosa cystica is rarely reported. We report the case of a 16-year-old boy who underwent NaF PET/CT for the evaluation of bilateral bone destruction, which was incidentally noted on an abdominal x-ray. The PET/CT images identified multiple bony abnormalities in the skull, pelvis, and limbs. In addition, a hypodense nodule was found posterior to the inferior pole of the right lobe of thyroid gland. Subsequent Tc-sestamibi imaging showed abnormal uptake in the neck nodule, which was confirmed as parathyroid adenoma by the pathology.

The Effectiveness of Preoperative Ultrasonography and Scintigraphy in the Pathological Gland Localization in Primary Hyperparathyroidism Patients

OBJECTIVES

Primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) is a common disease, and its curative treatment is surgical. Nowadays, preoperative localization studies have become standard before surgical treatment, and the first stage imaging methods are ultrasonography and/or scintigraphy. With the contribution of these studies to the localization of the pathological gland, focused surgery has become the first standard of choice. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of ultrasonography and scintigraphy in the preoperative localization of the pathologic gland or glands in patients who underwent surgical treatment and cure for pHPT.

METHODS

In this study; the data of the biochemically diagnosed pHPT patients, who had Tc 99m-MIBI scintigraphy and/or ultrasonography for localisation preoperatively, were evaluated retrospectively. The lesion, which was positive in USG or scintigraphy for localization, was evaluated according to the neck side or neck quadrant, and the results were compared with intraoperative localization findings. The effectiveness of both methods and combinations was evaluated with the localization rates, sensitivity and positive predictive values (PPV). The three methods were compared with the Youden index (J).

RESULTS

The mean age of 380 patients included in this study was 54.8±12.8 years (20-83). Three hundred eight of them were female, and 72 were male. Scintigraphy was performed in 339 patients, USG was performed in 344 patients, and both USG and scintigraphy were performed in 306 patients. One hundred twenty patients (32%) underwent bilateral neck exploration (BNE), and 260 patients (68.4%) underwent minimally invasive parathyroidectomy (MIP) (unilateral exploration or focused surgery). Single adenoma was detected in 358 (94%), double adenoma in 10 (3%) and hyperplasia in 12 (3%) patients.Localization rates of USG, scintigraphy, USG and scintigraphy combinations were 53%, 74%, 75%; their sensitivity was 56%, 85%, 89%; PPDs were 90%, 86%, 83%. The efficiency of scintigraphy is higher than USG (J: 0.743 vs 0.527). The contribution of scintigraphy to USG in combination with USG was limited (J: 0.743 vs 0.754).The localization rates of USG, scintigraphy, USG and scintigraphy combinations were 46%, 64%, 66%; their sensitivity was 51%, 83%, 88%; PPDs were 79%, 74%, 73%. The efficiency of scintigraphy is higher than that of USG (J: 0.64 vs 0.427). The contribution of scintigraphy to USG in combination with USG was limited (J: 0.64 vs 0.66).

CONCLUSION

In patients with pHPT, scintigraphy is a more effective method for USG as the first step preoperative imaging and should be preferred as the first method if there is no contraindication. A combination of scintigraphy with USG may contribute minimally to the efficacy of scintigraphy. It may be advantageous for early detection of the pathologic gland in patients with incompatible two imaging and initiating surgery on the positive side of the first scintigraphy. Scintigraphy and USG methods may allow successful MRP surgery in the majority of patients with pHPT.

Pre-operative localization of abnormal parathyroid tissue by 99mTc-sestamibi in primary hyperparathyroidism using four-quadrant site analysis: an evaluation of the predictive value of vitamin D deficiency

CONTEXT

Accurate preoperative localization of abnormal parathyroid tissue aids importantly in minimally invasive parathyroidectomy in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. Vitamin D deficiency may possibly influence the success and characteristics of pre-operative localization because it is associated with more active disease and possibly larger adenomas. This could increase the sensitivity of the sestamibi to identify abnormal parathyroid tissue, but earlier reports are conflicting. Vitamin D deficiency could also influence the nature of preoperative localization because it could lead to multi-gland stimulation of parathyroid tissue giving an appearance of multi-gland disease, which may lower accuracy of preoperative localization with sestamibi.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and correct parathyroid tissue localization by four-pole thyroid quadrant analysis.

DESIGN

Retrospective study.

SETTING

Referral center.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 138 patients were divided into three groups according to the level of 25OHD; <20 ng/mL (vitamin D deficient), ≥20 to <30 ng/mL (vitamin D insufficient) and ≥30 ng/mL (vitamin D replete).

MAIN OUTCOMES

Quadrant localization using ^99mTc-sestamibi/SPECT.

RESULTS

Among those with single-gland disease, the proportion of patients with correct quadrant localization were 60.0, 68.3 and 63.5% (p = 0.778), and the accuracy of sestamibi was 89.3, 90.6 and 89.9% for the deficient, insufficiency and replete groups, respectively. Among those with multi-gland disease, the proportion of patients with correct quadrant localization were 50.0, 25.0 and 18.2% (p = 0.619) while the accuracy was 50.0, 50.0 and 45.5%, respectively. Multi-gland disease did not occur more frequently in any of the three groups (p = 0.296).

CONCLUSIONS

Vitamin D levels do not affect the accuracy of preoperative localization with sestamibi.

Lesion based diagnostic performance of dual phase 99mTc-MIBI SPECT/CT imaging and ultrasonography in patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism

Background

We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of ^99mTc-MIBI SPECT/CT and ultrasonography in patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT), and explored the factors that affect the diagnostic performance.

Methods

^99mTc-MIBI SPECT/CT and ultrasonography were performed in 50 patients with SHPT within 1 month before they underwent surgery. Imaging results were confirmed by the pathology. Pearson correlation analysis was used to determine the correlation of PTH level with clinical data. The optimal cutoff value for predicting positive ^99mTc-MIBI results was evaluated by ROC analysis in lesions diameter.

Results

Forty-nine patients had a positive ^99mTc-MIBI imaging results and 39 patients had positive ultrasonography results. The sensitivities of ^99mTc-MIBI and ultrasonography were 98.00% and 78.00%, respectively. A total of 199 lesions were resected in 50 patients. Among them, 183 lesions were proved to be parathyroid hyperplasia. On per-lesion basis analysis, the sensitivity and specificity of ^99mTc-MIBI and ultrasonography were 59.34% and 75.00% vs 46.24% and 80.00%, respectively. The Pearson correlation analysis showed that the serum AKP and PTH level had a significant linear association (r = 0.699, P < 0.001). The lesion diameter was a statistically significant predictive factor in predicting positive ^99mTc-MIBI SPECT/CT. The optimal cutoff value for predicting positive ^99mTc-MIBI results evaluated by ROC analysis in lesions diameter was 8.05 mm.

Conclusion

Dual phase ^99mTc-MIBI SPECT/CT imaging had a higher sensitivity in patients with SHPT than ultrasonography. Therefore, using ^99mTc-MIBI positioning the lesion could be an effective method pre-surgical in patients with SHPT.

Fluorine-18 fluorocholine PET-CT localizes hyperparathyroidism in patients with inconclusive conventional imaging: a multicenter study from the Netherlands

BACKGROUND

Several reports have shown good performance of fluorine-18 fluorocholine (F-FCH) PET-computed tomography (CT) for parathyroid localization, although overall evidence remains scarce. We collected data from three institutions in the Netherlands and investigated the performance of F-FCH PET-CT as a second-line imaging modality.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We performed a retrospective review of all patients at least 18 years who underwent F-FCH PET-CT for biochemically proven hyperparathyroidism (HPT) and inconclusive ultrasound and sestamibi scintigraphy. Acquisition of PET images was performed 30 min after the administration of 2 MBq/kg F-FCH, together with a low-dose CT.

RESULTS

PET-CT scans were performed in 33 (75%) women and 11 (25%) men with a mean age of 58.9 (range 31-80 years). Three patients had multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1, one patient had tertiary HPT because of Alport syndrome and the remaining patients had sporadic primary HPT. F-FCH PET-CT was positive in 34/44 (77.3%) cases. Of the 35 abnormal glands resected in 33 patients, F-FCH PET-CT could successfully localize 33/35 (94.3%), with only one false-positive result [positive predictive value (PPV)=97.1%]. Comparison of the 10 patients with negative PET-CT with the 34 patients with positive PET-CT showed no significant differences in age, sex, ratio of preoperative calcium, use of cinacalcet, history of neck surgery, and concomitant multinodular goiter.

CONCLUSION

Our study shows excellent performance of F-FCH PET-CT in patients with HPT and inconclusive conventional imaging. Because of its favorable characteristics with high performance, prospective studies should be initiated to determine whether this new technique may replace conventional sestamibi scintigraphy as a first-line imaging modality.

Hybrid-fusion SPECT/CT systems in parathyroid adenoma: Technological improvements and added clinical diagnostic value

Nuclear medicine traditionally employs planar and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging techniques to depict the biodistribution of radiotracers for the diagnostic investigation of a range of disorders of endocrine gland function. The usefulness of combining functional information with anatomy derived from computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and high resolution ultrasound (US), has long been appreciated, either using visual side-by-side correlation, or software-based co-registration. The emergence of hybrid SPECT/CT camera technology now allows the simultaneous acquisition of combined multi-modality imaging, with seamless fusion of 3D volume datasets. Thus, it is not surprising that there is growing literature describing the many advantages that contemporary SPECT/CT technology brings to radionuclide investigation of endocrine disorders, showing potential advantages for the pre-operative locating of the parathyroid adenoma using a minimally invasive surgical approach, especially in the presence of ectopic glands and in multiglandular disease. In conclusion, hybrid SPECT/CT imaging has become an essential tool to ensure the most accurate diagnostic in the management of patients with hyperparathyroidism.

Endocrine radionuclide scintigraphy with fusion single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography

AIM: To review the benefits of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT) hybrid imaging for diagnosis of various endocrine disorders.

METHODS: We performed MEDLINE and PubMed searches using the terms: “SPECT/CT”; “functional anatomic mapping”; “transmission emission tomography”; “parathyroid adenoma”; “thyroid cancer”; “neuroendocrine tumor”; “adrenal”; “pheochromocytoma”; “paraganglioma”; in order to identify relevant articles published in English during the years 2003 to 2015. Reference lists from the articles were reviewed to identify additional pertinent articles. Retrieved manuscripts (case reports, reviews, meta-analyses and abstracts) concerning the application of SPECT/CT to endocrine imaging were analyzed to provide a descriptive synthesis of the utility of this technology.

RESULTS: The emergence of hybrid SPECT/CT camera technology now allows simultaneous acquisition of combined multi-modality imaging, with seamless fusion of three-dimensional volume datasets. The usefulness of combining functional information to depict the bio-distribution of radiotracers that map cellular processes of the endocrine system and tumors of endocrine origin, with anatomy derived from CT, has improved the diagnostic capability of scintigraphy for a range of disorders of endocrine gland function. The literature describes benefits of SPECT/CT for ^99mTc-sestamibi parathyroid scintigraphy and ^99mTc-pertechnetate thyroid scintigraphy, ¹²³I- or ¹³¹I-radioiodine for staging of differentiated thyroid carcinoma, ¹¹¹In- and ^99mTc- labeled somatostatin receptor analogues for detection of neuroendocrine tumors, ¹³¹I-norcholesterol (NP-59) scans for assessment of adrenal cortical hyperfunction, and ¹²³I- or ¹³¹I-metaiodobenzylguanidine imaging for evaluation of pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma.

CONCLUSION: SPECT/CT exploits the synergism between the functional information from radiopharmaceutical imaging and anatomy from CT, translating to improved diagnostic accuracy and meaningful impact on patient care.

Clinical Utility of Tc-99m MIBI SPECT/CT for Preoperative Localization of Parathyroid Lesions

We aimed to demonstrate the role of SPECT/CT in preoperative localization of parathyroid lesions in patients with hyperparathyroidism who had technetium-99m (Tc-99m) methoxyisobutylisonitrile (MIBI) dual-phase parathyroid scintigraphy. We evaluated retrospectively the scintigraphic data of 103 patients who had parathyroidectomy after Tc-99m MIBI dual-phase parathyroid scintigraphy with SPECT/CT. The planar and SPECT/CT images were evaluated separately to determine their efficacy in localizing parathyroid lesions. These results were then compared with surgical data. There were 84 female and 19 male patients whose mean age was 54 ± 12 years. A total of 115 parathyroid lesions in 103 patients were resected during operations. In 87 patients, with both planar and SPECT/CT images, a total of 100 lesions could be detected correctly. In 11 patients, only SPECT/CT images could show 13 subcentimetric lesions. In three patients, three lesions were evaluated as parathyroid lesions both with planar and SPECT/CT images, but according to histopathologic evaluation, they came out to be nonparathyroidal lesions. In two patients, two parathyroid lesions could not be detected preoperatively neither with planar nor with SPECT/CT images. The lesion-based sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy were 87 %, 99 %, 97.1 %, 95.3 %, and 95.8 % for planar images and 98.3 %, 99 %, 97.4 %, 99.4 %, and 98.8 % for SPECT/CT images, respectively. Tc-99m MIBI parathyroid scintigraphy should be a diagnostic modality of choice in preoperative evaluation of patients with hyperparathyroidism. SPECT/CT has an incremental value both in demonstrating subcentimetric lesions and in accurately localizing lesions anatomically.