F-18 sodium fluoride positron emission tomography/ computed tomography for detection of thyroid cancer bone metastasis compared with bone scintigraphy

Objective: The aim of the study was to compare the diagnostic performances of F-18 sodium fluoride positron emission tomography/computed tomography (bone PET/CT) and bone scintigraphy (BS) for the detection of thyroid cancer bone metastasis. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 6 thyroid cancer patients (age = 44.7 ± 9.8 years, M:F = 1:5, papillary:follicular = 2:4) with suspected bone metastatic lesions in the whole body iodine scintigraphy or BS, who subsequently underwent bone PET/CT. Pathologic diagnosis was conducted for 4 lesions of 4 patients. Results: Of the 17 suspected bone lesions, 10 were metastatic and 7 benign. Compared to BS, bone PET/CT exhibited superior sensitivity (10/10 = 100% vs. 2/10 = 20%, p = 0.008), and accuracy (14/17 = 82.4% vs. 7/17 = 41.2%, p < 0.025). The specificity (4/7 = 57.1%) of bone PET/CT was not significantly different from that of BS (5/7 = 71.4%, p > 0.05). Conclusion: Bone PET/CT may be more sensitive and accurate than BS for the detection of thyroid cancer bone metastasis.