Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography, a new technique for increasing the detection rate of coincident thyroid cancer in head and neck oncology

Clinically occult thyroid cancer is not uncommon and may occur in 1% to 10% of the population Since the first studies on the use of fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET) in clinical oncology some reports h ave appeared on the detection of occult tumors using this imaging modality. According to these results, the number of patients with head and neck canc er and clinically occult coincident primary tumors at initial presentation may be expected to increase. In two of the four patients presented, the coi ncident tumor was detected with FDG PET. The possible role of this new imag ing technique is discussed in correlation with treatment and clinical outco me.