Iodine-123 uptake in vertebral haemangiomas in a patient with papillary thyroid carcinoma.

We present a case of a 58-year-old woman with papillary carcinoma of the thyroid and elevated thyroglobulin. Whole body 123I scan with SPECT images demonstrated focal uptake in the thoracic spine, reported as bone metastases. Subsequent (18)FDG PET and (99m)Tc HDP bone were normal. MRI and CT scans confirmed the presence of vertebral haemangiomas corresponding to the uptake seen on the (123)I scan. False-positive uptake of (123)I in benign vertebral haemangiomas should be considered in the differential diagnosis of focal vertebral uptake.