Koumakis E, Gauthé M, Martinino A, Sindayigaya R, Delbot T, Wartski M, Clerc J, Roux C, Borderie D, Cochand-Priollet B, Cormier C, and Gaujoux S
Context: The contribution of [18F]F-fluorocholine (FCH)-positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) in normocalcemic primary hyperparathyroidism (nPHPT) remains unknown., Objective: To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of FCH-PET/CT in a cohort of osteoporotic patients with nPHPT and discordant or negative [99mTc]Tc-sestamibi scintigraphy and ultrasonography who all underwent parathyroidectomy (PTX)., Design: Longitudinal retrospective cohort study in patients referred for osteoporosis with mild biological primary hyperparathyroidism., Setting: Tertiary referral center with expertise in bone metabolism and surgical management of hyperparathyroidism., Patients: Among 109 patients with PHPT analyzed, 3 groups were individualized according to total serum calcium (tCa) and ionized calcium (iCa): 32 patients with hypercalcemia (HtCa group), 39 patients with normal tCa and elevated iCa (NtCa group), and 38 patients with both normal tCa and iCa (NiCa). All patients had biochemical follow-up confirming or not the success of PTX., Main Outcome Measures: To evaluate the performance of FCH-PET/CT in terms of sensitivity and specificity, and to compare with first-line imaging procedures in the setting of nPHPT., Results: The sensitivity of FCH-PET/CT was 67% in the hypercalcemic group, 48% in the NtCa group (P = .05 vs HtCa), and 33% in the NiCa group (P = .004 vs HtCa). Specificity ranged from 97% to 99%. FCH-PET/CT was positive in 64.3% of patients with negative conventional imaging, with biochemical resolution after PTX in 77.8% of patients. Triple negative imaging was observed in 20 patients, with PHPT resolution in 85% of these patients., Conclusion: This study highlights the contribution of FCH-PET/CT in a well-phenotyped cohort of normocalcemic patients with discordant or negative findings in [99mTc]Tc-sestamibi scintigraphy and ultrasonography. However, negative imaging in nPHPT does not rule out the possibility of surgical cure by an experienced surgeon., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Endocrine Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)