Incidental Detection With 18F-PSMA (Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen)-1007 PET/CT of Multifocal Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma During Staging of Very High-Risk Prostate Adenocarcinoma: A Case Report.

Authors

José Gonzalo Bravo Quiroz, Hillary Lizarraga Payan, Héctor M Prado Calleros, Maria Paula Morales Ruiz, José Manuel García Romero, Francisco Ortega Arreola, Sara Parraguirre Martínez, Cesar E Venegas Yañez

Published in

Cureus. Volume 18. Issue 7. Pages e112857. Epub Jul 17, 2026.

Abstract

Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) has become increasingly integrated into prostate cancer staging and restaging. PSMA expression, however, is not restricted to prostatic tissue and may be detected in several non-prostatic malignancies, including thyroid carcinoma. We report the case of a male patient with very high-risk acinar prostate adenocarcinoma (Gleason score 4+4) who underwent whole-body 18F-PSMA-1007 PET/CT for staging purposes. The patient was classified as very high-risk according to NCCN (National Comprehensive Cancer Network) criteria and was managed with androgen deprivation therapy, radiotherapy, and salvage radical prostatectomy. Imaging demonstrated a focal PSMA-avid hypodense nodule in the right thyroid lobe, measuring 15 mm with a maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of 6.33. Subsequent neck ultrasonography (TI-RADS 4) and fine-needle aspiration biopsy confirmed papillary thyroid carcinoma (Bethesda category VI). The patient underwent a total thyroidectomy with a level VI central neck dissection. Histopathological examination revealed multifocal papillary thyroid carcinoma with focal vascular invasion involving three vessels and central compartment nodal metastasis (pT1bN1a). Following surgery and radioactive iodine ablation with 150 mCi of iodine-131, the patient achieved an excellent biochemical response, with thyroglobulin becoming undetectable under TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) suppression and no evidence of structural recurrence on follow-up imaging. This case highlights the clinical relevance of incidental focal thyroid uptake detected on PSMA PET/CT performed for prostate cancer staging. Incidental PSMA-avid thyroid lesions may occasionally identify biologically significant synchronous malignancies and should prompt dedicated evaluation with ultrasonography and fine-needle aspiration when clinically appropriate.

PMID:
42605305
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 17 Aug 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.