BACKGROUND: At present, empirical radioactive iodine therapy is recommended for patients with thyroid cancer and elevated thyroglobulin (Tg) after initial therapy when neck ultrasonography (US), chest computed tomography (CT), and 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) do not reveal metastases. The objective of this study was to determine whether empirical (131)I therapy is indeed useful in these patients. METHODS: Patients with papillary thyroid cancer submitted to total thyroidectomy followed by remnant ablation with (131)I in whom whole-body scanning at the time of ablation (WBS-ablation) did not reveal metastases and who had elevated Tg after initial therapy were selected. Included in the study were patients with basal Tg >2 ng/mL or Tg >5 ng/mL after stimulation with recombinant human thyrotropin or Tg >10 ng/mL after levothyroxine withdrawal for 4 weeks. All patients were first investigated by neck US and chest CT. FDG-PET/CT was performed in patients with negative US and CT. The final sample of this study consisted of patients with negative US, CT, and FDG-PET/CT. These patients received an activity of 100 mCi (131)I and were submitted to posttherapy WBS (RxWBS). RESULTS: Among the 24 patients receiving empirical (131)I therapy, no ectopic uptake was seen in 23 and mild uptake in the thyroid bed (<0.5%) in 15. Only one patient presented pulmonary metastases detected by RxWBS. Disease was observed in two other patients during short-term follow-up (mean 22 months), one with lymph node metastases diagnosed by a repeat US and one with bone metastases diagnosed by CT and FDG-PET scans. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that RxWBS rarely reveals disease in patients with elevated Tg after ablation, but with negative findings on WBS-ablation, US, CT, and FDG-PET. In this situation, empirical (131)I therapy should be restricted to patients with documented progression of serum Tg.
BACKGROUND: At present, empirical radioactive iodine therapy is recommended for patients with thyroid cancer and elevated thyroglobulin (Tg) after initial therapy when neck ultrasonography (US), chest computed tomography (CT), and 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) do not reveal metastases. The objective of this study was to determine whether empirical (131)I therapy is indeed useful in these patients. METHODS:Patients with papillary thyroid cancer submitted to total thyroidectomy followed by remnant ablation with (131)I in whom whole-body scanning at the time of ablation (WBS-ablation) did not reveal metastases and who had elevated Tg after initial therapy were selected. Included in the study were patients with basal Tg >2 ng/mL or Tg >5 ng/mL after stimulation with recombinant human thyrotropin or Tg >10 ng/mL after levothyroxine withdrawal for 4 weeks. All patients were first investigated by neck US and chest CT. FDG-PET/CT was performed in patients with negative US and CT. The final sample of this study consisted of patients with negative US, CT, and FDG-PET/CT. These patients received an activity of 100 mCi (131)I and were submitted to posttherapy WBS (RxWBS). RESULTS: Among the 24 patients receiving empirical (131)I therapy, no ectopic uptake was seen in 23 and mild uptake in the thyroid bed (<0.5%) in 15. Only one patient presented pulmonary metastases detected by RxWBS. Disease was observed in two other patients during short-term follow-up (mean 22 months), one with lymph node metastases diagnosed by a repeat US and one with bone metastases diagnosed by CT and FDG-PET scans. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that RxWBS rarely reveals disease in patients with elevated Tg after ablation, but with negative findings on WBS-ablation, US, CT, and FDG-PET. In this situation, empirical (131)I therapy should be restricted to patients with documented progression of serum Tg.
Authors: Gary L Francis; Steven G Waguespack; Andrew J Bauer; Peter Angelos; Salvatore Benvenga; Janete M Cerutti; Catherine A Dinauer; Jill Hamilton; Ian D Hay; Markus Luster; Marguerite T Parisi; Marianna Rachmiel; Geoffrey B Thompson; Shunichi Yamashita Journal: Thyroid Date: 2015-07 Impact factor: 6.568
Authors: Bryan R Haugen; Erik K Alexander; Keith C Bible; Gerard M Doherty; Susan J Mandel; Yuri E Nikiforov; Furio Pacini; Gregory W Randolph; Anna M Sawka; Martin Schlumberger; Kathryn G Schuff; Steven I Sherman; Julie Ann Sosa; David L Steward; R Michael Tuttle; Leonard Wartofsky Journal: Thyroid Date: 2016-01 Impact factor: 6.568
Authors: Martin Biermann; Jostein Kråkenes; Katrin Brauckhoff; Hans Kristian Haugland; Achim Heinecke; Lars A Akslen; Jan Erik Varhaug; Michael Brauckhoff Journal: Acta Radiol Date: 2015-03-13 Impact factor: 1.990
Authors: José F Carrillo; Rafael Vázquez-Romo; Margarita C Ramírez-Ortega; Liliana C Carrillo; Edgar Gómez-Argumosa; Luis F Oñate-Ocaña Journal: Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) Date: 2019-10-29 Impact factor: 5.555