Molecular imaging enables earlier, individualized treatment of thyroid cancerJanuary 05, 2009Physicians now able to accurately distinguish cancerous lymph nodes from healthy tissue in cancer patients, according to article in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine Reston, Va.-In a study to determine the diagnostic value of molecular imaging in nodal staging of patients with thyroid cancer, researchers were able for the first time to accurately distinguish between cancerous cells in regional lymph nodes and normal residual thyroid tissue directly after surgery. Researchers from the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany, reported in an article in the January issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine on the results of a study using a hybrid single photon emission computed tomography-computed tomography (SPECT-CT) camera to determine and locate the spread of cancer cells to nearby lymph nodes.
According to the researchers, the demonstration or exclusion of cancer spread (metastasis) in regional lymph nodes plays a major role in treating the disease since all patients with lymph node metastases are considered to be at high risk for recurrence. Currently, patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) who have had their thyroid removed are treated with radioactive iodine, which effectively zeros in on and kills any remaining cancerous thyroid cells. Because one of the functions of the thyroid gland is to absorb iodine from the blood, radioiodine is taken up by any thyroid tissue not removed by surgery, including cancerous cells spreading to other body parts, such as lymph nodes. In addition to emitting electrons that destroy the tissue harboring the radionuclide, radioactive iodine emits photons suitable for imaging. "Normal thyroid tissue as well as residual cancer cells concentrate radioiodine. Performed after ingestion of radioiodine, SPECT-CT provides three-dimensional images of the distribution of the radionuclide in the human body and is therefore used for staging this type of cancer," said Torsten Kuwert, MD, co-author of the article. "Incorporated at first treatment, SPECT-CT allows us to better stratify patients into treatment groups." In the study, 57 patients received radioiodine therapy. Afterwards, a SPECT-CT camera was rotated around the patients at a variety of angles to capture where the radioactivity was occurring. SPECT imaging can locate cells in the body that are not behaving normally, but does not provide the detailed, X-ray-like images that CT imaging can. The hybrid camera, however, is able to reveal both the malignant cell activity and the exact anatomical location. "With SPECT-CT imaging, we were able to determine tumor spread much earlier than before," said Daniela Schmidt, MD, another co-author of the article. "Earlier detection will lead to earlier individualized treatment of this potentially deadly cancer." The researchers also reported that this information led to a revision of the original diagnosis in 35 percent of the study participants. The images reclassified as benign six of 11 lesions that had been considered lymph node metastases and 11 of 15 lesions considered to be indeterminate. "Our data suggest that SPECT-CT should be used as a routine procedure in DTC patients at the first radioiodine treatment," said Kuwert. "By upstaging or downstaging disease, this hybrid imaging tool may alter the management of more than one-third of patients with the disease." According to the American Cancer Society, DTC is the most common form of thyroid cancer and one of the success stories in the war on cancer. Since the advent of radioiodine therapy, it has been considered one of the more curable cancers. In 2009, about 37,340 new cases of thyroid cancer will be diagnosed in the United States. Of the new cases, about 28,410 will occur in women, and 8,930 in men. Society of Nuclear Medicine Science News and Science Current Events Tag Cloud This tag cloud is a visual representation of term frequencies of random science news topics with common terms grouped together and emphasized by their display size. Digital Camera Tumor cell Swine Flu Mass Spectrometry Water Molecules Attractiveness Selenium Exercise Acid Rain HIV transmission Permafrost Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Hemoglobin Corticosteroids Pheromones Dementia Food Poisoning Explosives Ubiquitin Solar Wind Dialysis Dyslexia Aneurysm New Species Sharks
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Related Thyroid Cancer Current Events and Thyroid Cancer News Articles Researchers pinpoint a new enemy for tumor-suppressor p53 Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have identified a protein that marks the tumor suppressor p53 for destruction, providing a potential new avenue for restoring p53 in cancer cells. Vandetanib shows clinical benefit when combined with docetaxel for lung cancer When combined with standard chemotherapy, an international Phase III trial has shown that the oral targeted therapy vandetanib improves progression-free survival for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. First comprehensive guidelines for managing medullary thyroid carcinoma published in Thyroid journal New guidelines designed to standardize and optimize the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of patients with Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma (MTC), an uncommon and challenging form of thyroid cancer, have been developed by the American Thyroid Association. Drug that targets vasculature growth attacks aggressive thyroid cancer A medication that helps stop the growth of new blood vessels has produced dramatic benefits for some patients with aggressive thyroid cancer, research from Mayo Clinic indicates. Metastatic bone disease patients can walk in Lazarus' footsteps Osteoplasty-a highly effective minimally invasive procedure to treat the painful effects of metastatic bone disease by injecting bone cement to support weakened bones-provides immediate and substantial pain relief, often presenting individuals who are suffering terribly with the miraculous so-called "Lazarus effect," according to researchers at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 34th Annual Scientific Meeting. Mayo Clinic Researchers Find Experimental Therapy Turns on Tumor Suppressor Gene in Cancer Cells Researchers at Mayo Clinic have found that the experimental drug they are testing to treat a deadly form of thyroid cancer turns on a powerful tumor suppressor capable of halting cell growth. Few other cancer drugs have this property, they say. Researchers discover atomic bomb effect results in adult-onset thyroid cancer Radiation from the atomic bomb blasts in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945, likely rearranged chromosomes in some survivors who later developed papillary thyroid cancer as adults, according to Japanese researchers. Scans spot hidden tumors in rare cancer syndrome Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report that full-body PET/CT scanning detected unsuspected, treatable tumors in 3 of 15 patients with Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS), a rare genetic cancer syndrome for which no screening tests have been recommended. Mailman School PH study finds increase in thyroid diseases risk from exposure at Chernobyl Persons exposed to radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl accident as children and adolescents have an increased risk of follicular adenoma or benign tumor of the thyroid gland, according to researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Scientists solve structure of gene regulator that plays key role in cancer Scientists at The Wistar Institute have collaborated on a major advance in understanding a gene regulator that contributes to some of the deadliest cancers in humans. The culmination of 10 years' work, their research paves the way for the development of new cancer therapies. More Thyroid Cancer Current Events and Thyroid Cancer News Articles |
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