Whole body scan with I-131 in differentiated thyroid cancer

A revision of clinical reports and whole-body scan with I-131 was in 80 patients with thyroid cancer seen in the National Institute of Neoplasic Diseases and sent to the Center of Nuclear Medicine between the years 1982 and 1988, to seek for metastases. Histology and degree of differentiation was reviewed and diagnosis was confirmed in 58 cases, being most frequent the fourth decade. Most patients were female (42 cases). Histological diagnosis was papillary carcinoma in 16 cases, follicular in 23 and mixed in 13. The degree of differentiation was well differentiated in 5 cases, moderately differentiated in 12 and poorly differentiated in 35 cases. Whole body scan with I-131 was negative in 4 cases and showed I-131 trapping in the other 48 cases. Thirty eight cases were due to cervical remnant and nine to distant metastases. In the six patients with lung metastases, four had normal thorax radiography, nodules in one case and micro nodules in the other one. In the patients with skeletal metastases, distribution was multiple in one case, scapula in other and femur in the third one. (Author). 32 refs., 2 tab., 2 fig