Imaging of Recurrent Thyroid Cancer

Recent improvements in serum Tg assays, the availability of recombinant thyrotropin, widespread use of neck ultrasonography, and positron emission tomography (PET)/CT have caused a shift of paradigm in the detection of recurrent disease in well differentiated thyroid cancer. High-resolution neck ultrasonography has taken on a central role, whereas 131I whole body scanning has become less important. PET/CT has emerged as a powerful tool in the assessment of patients who have recurrent tumor not demonstrable with other imaging modalities. The author reviews the tools available for the detection and localization of recurrent thyroid cancer with respect to their advantages and limitations in various clinical scenarios.