Use of Radioactive Iodine for Thyroid Cancer

Abstract

More than 40 000 individuals in the United States receive a thyroid cancer diagnosis each year, and the overwhelming majority of cases are well-differentiated thyroid cancer.¹ Standard treatment for well-differentiated thyroid cancer is thyroidectomy. To ensure full eradication of remnant thyroid tissue and to treat residual disease, in patients with visible, inoperable, iodine-avid metastases, radioactive iodine is often administered after total thyroidectomy. Previous cohort studies have shown improved survival and reduced tumor recurrence when iodine-avid, advanced-stage, well-differentiated thyroid cancer is treated with radioactive iodine.^2-4 There is little controversy concerning the value of radioactive iodine for these patients. In contrast, for very low-risk disease, in which prognosis is typically excellent, treatment with radioactive iodine is of uncertain benefit.^5-8