Development in the diagnosis of benign and malignant thyroid incidentalomas by ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT imaging

PET/CT is an imaging technique that integrates the functional metabolism and anatomical morphological information. This technology has been widely applied in differentiating malignant and benign tumors, cancer staging and restaging, and monitoring treatment response and prognosis. PET/CT has attracted considerable attention among clinicians because of the increasing number of thyroid incidentalomas. This article presents a review of the incidence, malignant rate, imaging features, and latest development of focal and diffuse thyroid incidentalomas using PET/CT imaging studies. (authors)