Background: A cross-sectional prospective study has been conducted on differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) patients using negative 131Iodine (131I) whole body scans and elevated thyroglobulin (Tg) levels. The main objective of this research was to determine the prevalence of the conversion of differentiated to dedifferentiated thyroid cancer patients during follow up at the Hospital Kuala Lumpur. It has been demonstrated that fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake is inversely proportional to the iodine concentration and to differentiation of the cells. Methodology: Thirty-five patients with histologically proven DTC that have undergone total or near total thyroidectomy, and post 131I radioactive iodine ablation therapy, were selected and prospectively analysed. The patients also had to show at least one negative whole body scan and Tg levels of 10 μg/L and above. The results of the FDG-Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) were then studied to determine the association and the predictors influencing the outcome by using univariable and multivariable analyses. Results: Out of the thirty-five patients, 60% of them (twenty-one) showed positive results and 40% (fourteen) showed negative. Age, gender, and type of histopathology (HPE) showed significant associations with the positive results of the FDG-PET/CT. The results also showed no correlations observed between the Tg levels and standardised uptake value (SUV)max in the DTC patients with positive disease findings in the FDG-PET/CT. The predictor for this study was age. Conclusion: The prevalence of the conversion of differentiated to dedifferentiated thyroid cancer among patients with negative 131I and elevated Tg was 60%, with age as the predictor. DTC patients aged 45 year-old and older were seven times more likely to have positive results of FDG-PET/CT imaging.

carcinoma has been reclassified as non-invasive follicularthyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features (NIFTP)to emphasize the benign nature of this entity. In ourinstitution, we have assessed 455 patients treated withradioiodine ablation for differentiated thyroid carcinoma and20 of them were retrospectively found to fulfill the newNIFTP criteria. There was no evidence of metastasis on postradioiodine whole body scans for NIFTP cases and thesepatients were in remission subsequently. The benignfeatures of these patients’ whole body scans and goodclinical outcome following treatment further support NIFTPas a low risk thyroid neoplasm.

PURPOSE: The National Cancer Institute is the only referral centre in Malaysia that provides ⁶⁸Ga-DOTA-peptide imaging. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of ⁶⁸Ga-DOTA-peptide PET/CT on the management of gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumours (GI-NET).MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed to review the impact of ⁶⁸Ga-DOTA-peptide (⁶⁸Ga-DOTATATE or ⁶⁸Ga-DOTATOC) PET/CT on patients with biopsy-proven GI-NET between January 2011 and December 2015. Suspected NET was excluded. Demographic data, tumoral characteristics, change of disease stage, pre-PET intended management and post-PET management were evaluated.RESULTS: Over a 5-year period, 82 studies of ⁶⁸Ga-DOTA-peptide PET/CT were performed on 44 GI-NET patients. The most common primary site was the rectum (50.0%) followed by the small bowel, stomach and colon. Using WHO 2010 grading, 40.9%of patients had low-grade (G1) tumour, 22.7% intermediate (G2) and 4.5% high (G3). Of ten patients scheduled for pre-operative staging, ⁶⁸Ga-DOTA-peptide PET/CT only led to therapeutic change in three patients. Furthermore, false-negative results of ⁶⁸Ga-DOTA-peptide PET/CT were reported in one patient after surgical confirmation. However, therapeutic changes were seen in 20/36 patients (55.6%) scheduled for post-surgical restaging or assessment of somatostatin analogue (SSA) eligibility. When ⁶⁸Ga-DOTApeptide PET/CT was used for monitoring disease progress during systemic treatment (sandostatin, chemotherapy, everolimus and PRRT) in metastatic disease, impact on management modification was seen in 19/36 patients (52.8%), of which 84.2% had inter-modality change (switch to everolimus, chemotherapy or PRRT) and 15.8% had intra-modality change (increased SSA dosage).CONCLUSIONS: ⁶⁸Ga-DOTA-peptide PET/CT has a significant impact on management decisions in GI-NET patients as it can provide additional information on occult metastasis/equivocal lesions and supply the clinician an opportunity to select patients for targeted therapy.
Colon ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Drug Therapy ; Everolimus ; Humans ; Malaysia ; National Cancer Institute (U.S.) ; Positron-Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography ; Rectum ; Referral and Consultation ; Somatostatin ; Stomach

PURPOSE: The National Cancer Institute is the only referral centre in Malaysia that provides ⁶⁸Ga-DOTA-peptide imaging. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of ⁶⁸Ga-DOTA-peptide PET/CT on the management of gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumours (GI-NET). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed to review the impact of ⁶⁸Ga-DOTA-peptide (⁶⁸Ga-DOTATATE or ⁶⁸Ga-DOTATOC) PET/CT on patients with biopsy-proven GI-NET between January 2011 and December 2015. Suspected NET was excluded. Demographic data, tumoral characteristics, change of disease stage, pre-PET intended management and post-PET management were evaluated. RESULTS: Over a 5-year period, 82 studies of ⁶⁸Ga-DOTA-peptide PET/CT were performed on 44 GI-NET patients. The most common primary site was the rectum (50.0%) followed by the small bowel, stomach and colon. Using WHO 2010 grading, 40.9%of patients had low-grade (G1) tumour, 22.7% intermediate (G2) and 4.5% high (G3). Of ten patients scheduled for pre-operative staging, ⁶⁸Ga-DOTA-peptide PET/CT only led to therapeutic change in three patients. Furthermore, false-negative results of ⁶⁸Ga-DOTA-peptide PET/CT were reported in one patient after surgical confirmation. However, therapeutic changes were seen in 20/36 patients (55.6%) scheduled for post-surgical restaging or assessment of somatostatin analogue (SSA) eligibility. When ⁶⁸Ga-DOTApeptide PET/CT was used for monitoring disease progress during systemic treatment (sandostatin, chemotherapy, everolimus and PRRT) in metastatic disease, impact on management modification was seen in 19/36 patients (52.8%), of which 84.2% had inter-modality change (switch to everolimus, chemotherapy or PRRT) and 15.8% had intra-modality change (increased SSA dosage). CONCLUSIONS ⁶⁸Ga-DOTA-peptide PET/CT has a significant impact on management decisions in GI-NET patients as it can provide additional information on occult metastasis/equivocal lesions and supply the clinician an opportunity to select patients for targeted therapy.