Cases of thyroid cartilage metastasis as abnormal findings seen in prostate cancer patients visualized by 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT

摘要

Background:68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT is increasingly being used worldwide in prostate cancer patients. Accordingly, there is a pressing need for educational resources on the proper interpretation criteria that need to be used, including a deeper understanding on the pitfalls and variants that one can encounter with this new PET/CT imaging modality. 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT provides very accurate staging of disease in prostate cancer, superior to what can be achieved with other standard imaging techniques. It has allowed the recognition of patterns of metastatic disease in prostate cancer that perhaps were not fully determined.Case presentationWe present three cases of patients with advanced metastatic prostate cancer imaged with 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT in which, in addition to widespread osseous metastatic disease, there is evidence of unknown and unsuspected metastatic disease in the thyroid cartilage.ConclusionAlthough rare and unusual, it is helpful to consider the possibility of prostate carcinoma metastasizing to the thyroid and cricoid cartilage, especially in prostate cancer patients with advanced widespread osseous metastatic disease.