Iodine-131 MIBG uptake in metastatic medullary carcinoma of the thyroid. A patient treated with somatostatin.

A 47-year-old man with multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) type 2a syndrome in whom metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) concentrated in lesions from metastatic medullary carcinoma of the thyroid is reported. A somatostatin analogue (Sandostatin SMS 201-995) alleviated the symptoms of flushing and diarrhea associated with the elevated calcitonin levels but it did not alter either the course of the disease or the MIBG images. A review of the literature is presented of the noncatecholamine secreting tumors associated with MIBG uptake. Similarities between this case and metastatic carcinoid syndrome are discussed.