Intraoperative Autofluorescence Parathyroid Identification in Patients With Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 1

Abstract

infrared (NIR) autofluorescence of the parathyroid gland enables intraoperative gland identification without the need for contrast agent injection. However, whether real-time autofluorescence imaging is useful in patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) and primary hyperparathyroidism is unknown.OBJECTIVE To compare quantified intraoperative parathyroid autofluorescence imaging results for patients with MEN1-associated vs those with non-MEN1 sporadic primary hyperparathyroidism. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSA retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data on a cohort of 71 consecutive patients undergoing surgery for primary hyperparathyroidism by 2 experienced endocrine surgeons between June 1, 2017, and July 31, 2018, was conducted. Intraoperative imaging was performed with a handheld NIR autofluorescence device and images were captured for analysis. Post hoc blinded imaging analysis was conducted with Image J software to quantify representative areas of greatest autofluorescence from the parathyroid, thyroid, and adjacent soft tissue. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURESPrimary end points were parathyroid autofluorescence and background thyroid and soft tissue autofluorescence, reported as median values with interquartile ranges. Rates of false-negative (lack of significant parathyroid gland autofluorescence compared with background autofluorescence, defined as parathyroid autofluorescence-background autofluorescence ratio <1.10) and false-positive autofluorescence (aberrant autofluorescence of nonparathyroid tissue confirmed by pathologic testing) were analyzed. RESULTSOf the 71 consecutive patients with primary hyperparathyroidism who underwent parathyroidectomy during the study period, 6 patients had genetically or clinically diagnosed MEN1 and 65 had sporadic non-MEN1 hyperparathyroidism. Most patients were women (MEN1: 4 [67%]; non-MEN1: 51 [78%]). Median (interquartile range) age was 49.0 (38.0-53.8) years in the MEN1 cohort and 61.0 (54.0-67.0) years in the non-MEN1 cohort. No clinically significant differences in serum preoperative parathyroid hormone level or parathyroid gland size or weight on pathologic examination were observed between the 2 cohorts. The median absolute value of in situ parathyroid autofluorescence was significantly lower in the MEN1 cohort than the non-MEN1 cohort (54.4 vs 74.3; Hedges g = −1.03; 95% CI, −1.89 to −0.17), as was the ratio of parathyroid to background autofluorescence (1.08 vs 1.59; g = −1.59; 95% CI, −2.23 to −0.96). Three patients (50%) with MEN1 had false-negative nonfluorescent parathyroid adenomas vs 6 patients (9%) without MEN1. Nonparathyroid fibroadipose tissue of patients with MEN1 exhibited greater background autofluorescence, leading to high false-positive rates (5 of 6 patients [83%]) vs only 3 of 65 (5%) false-positive autofluorescence nonparathyroid specimens among patients without MEN1. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCEIntraoperative identification of parathyroid glands using their autofluorescence by real-time NIR imaging appears to have uti...

Recent advances in the understanding and management of primary hyperparathyroidism

“…It would not be a classic "re-operation" at that time given that all parathyroid gland(s) would be removed in any explored quadrant at the time of the primary operation 68 . Of note, in a small study, autofluorescence does not appear to be a useful adjunct during surgery in these patients 69 .…”

Classification of hyperspectral endocrine tissue images using support vector machines

“…A possible reason for this is their final histology. In Reference 36, the impact of hyperthyroidism on the detection of the parathyroid using NIR autofluorescence was evaluated. It was shown that the pathology decreases the parathyroid gland's autofluorescence and increases the autofluorescence of the surrounding tissue.…”

Real-time intraoperative near-infrared autofluorescence imaging to locate the parathyroid glands: A preliminary report

“…In patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism, the down-regulation of calcium-sensing receptors leads to a decrease in fluorescence intensity compared to that of normal PGs (23). In addition, Squires et al noted significantly lower quantified absolute values of parathyroid AF in situ and ex vivo and significantly lower parathyroidto-background AF ratios for patients with vs. without multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) (24).…”