Molecular imaging plays a critical role in the evaluation and treatment planning for a broad spectrum of cancers, including thyroid cancer and lymphoma. These are the findings of a series of studies published in the September Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM)
According to researchers, molecular imaging allows physicians to identify the severity and extent of disease and, in turn, provide patients with personalized care. In addition, molecular imaging allows doctors to see how effective a treatment is early in the process so that changes can be made to ensure the best treatment for each individual patient.
"For patients with thyroid cancer, 'one size fits all' no longer applies," said Ravinder Grewal, M.D., corresponding author of "The Effect of Posttherapy 131I- SPECT/CT on Risk Classification and Management of Patients with Differentiated Thyroid Cancer" and an assistant attending physician in nuclear medicine at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. "Through molecular imaging, the paradigm is changing toward more tailored and customized management of treatment. As a result, we can see how far a disease has spread and spare the patient from additional examination, time and radiation exposure."
For the study, researchers performed planar imaging and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/CT on 148 patients with thyroid cancer. The results showed that SPECT/CT provided information that reduced the need for additional cross-sectional imaging in 29 patients and redefined the initial risk of recurrence estimates in seven of 109 patients, thereby altering patient management recommendations in terms of frequency and intensity of follow-up studies.
