Incidental detection of Hurthle cell adenoma and papillary carcinoma of the thyroid during gated blood pool scintigraphy

A 45-year-old white woman with a previous history of myocardial infartion underwent resting gated blood pool scintigraphy to assess left ventricular function. She also had a previous history of hyperthyroidism treated in the past with antithyroid medications. Unexpected intense radiotracer activity was seen in the thyroid gland with a large cold nodule noted in the left lobe. No tracer was demonstrated in the stomach. Follow-up thyroid scanning confirmed the cold nodule in the left lobe and demonstrated an additional cold nodule in the right lobe. Radioactive iodine uptakes were elevated