{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,23]],"date-time":"2026-06-23T04:50:25Z","timestamp":1782190225076,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,23]],"date-time":"2026-06-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782172800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Endocrinol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study aimed to characterize the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of cervical metastatic lymph nodes in differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) and provide imaging-based evidence for identifying metastatic cervical lymph nodes prior to administration of radioactive iodine (\u00b9\u00b3\u00b9I) therapy.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Clinical and imaging data from 32 patients with histologically confirmed DTC who underwent \u00b9\u00b3\u00b9I therapy at Haikou People\u2019s Hospital between June 2019 and May 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients demonstrated cervical radioiodine-avid lymph nodes on post-therapeutic \u00b9\u00b3\u00b9I whole-body scintigraphy (\u00b9\u00b3\u00b9I-Rx-WBS). Cervical ultrasonography (US) and MRI examinations were conducted prior to\n                      <jats:sup>131<\/jats:sup>\n                      I therapy. The MRI characteristics of the lymph nodes identified as radioiodine-avid on \u00b9\u00b3\u00b9I-Rx-WBS were assessed, including anatomical location, number, shape, margin definition, presence of hilum, proximity to vascular structures, and relative size within the nodal population.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      All participants were diagnosed with papillary thyroid carcinoma. The median age was 45.5 years (range, 28\u201366 years). Cervical US detected lymph node metastasis in 15.6% (5\/32) of cases. A total of 58 radioiodine-avid lymph nodes were identified across cervical levels II\u2013VI and the supraclavicular region. MRI analysis demonstrated that most radioiodine-avid lymph nodes exhibited hyperintensity on T\n                      <jats:sub>1<\/jats:sub>\n                      - and T\n                      <jats:sub>2<\/jats:sub>\n                      -weighted sequences. Morphologically 65.5% were round to ovoid and 32.8% were irregular in shape. Ill-defined margins were observed in 69.0% of nodes, absence of the lymphatic hilum in 91.4%, and vascular adjacency in 77.6%. In 96.9% (31\/32) of patients, at least 4 lymph nodes were visualized on MRI, however, imaging features of radioiodine-negative lymph nodes often overlapped with those of radioiodine-avid nodes.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Cervical lymph nodes demonstrating radioiodine uptake on \u00b9\u00b3\u00b9I-Rx-WBS frequently present with round to ovoid or irregular morphology and indistinct margins on MRI. However, given the high density of cervical lymph nodes and overlapping imaging characteristics between radioiodine-avid and radioiodine-negative nodes, a comprehensive assessment integrating multimodal imaging and clinical correlation is essential for accurate assessment before \u00b9\u00b3\u00b9I therapy.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fendo.2026.1804633","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,23]],"date-time":"2026-06-23T04:34:51Z","timestamp":1782189291000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["MRI characteristics of cervical radioiodine-avid lymph nodes detected on post-therapeutic \u00b9\u00b3\u00b9I whole-body scintigraphy in differentiated thyroid carcinoma"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Liang-Qian","family":"Tong","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nuclear Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest 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China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wei","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nuclear Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University","place":["Luzhou, Sichuan, China"]},{"name":"Nuclear Medicine and Theranostics Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province","place":["Luzhou, Sichuan, China"]},{"name":"Institute of Nuclear Medicine, Southwest Medical University","place":["Luzhou, Sichuan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yan-Fang","family":"Sui","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Haikou Research Institute of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University","place":["Haikou, Hainan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yue","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nuclear Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical 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